Winding Roads
by DoctorDash
Summary: The world coltcuddler has been floating around the town of Appleloosa as of late, and it always comes around to the earth pony named Braeburn, who himself has since denied any accusations, despite the townsfolk's disbelief. Denial is a new word however, and the the strange pegasus under the name of Soarin seems to want to convince the earth pony he isn't so strange.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"Same shit, different day."**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Chapter 1: The Bar**

It really wasn't the things everypony said to him that made Braeburn Apple feel like he was worthless, nor was it the way ponies treated him that effected his self-esteem. No, it was the way the townsfolk, good friends, and even his own family began to look at him. Their gawks alone acted like they knew him and his entire life story after he let it slip. He wasn't happy with himself, his own folks made sure to make him feel more than ashamed about it, which he was already thanks to them.

Braeburn fluttered his eyelids several times as he trotted down the middle of the street with his head hung slightly, a cowpony hat covering his eyes as he grumbled something under his breath "'T'aint fair..." He glanced around at all of the faces staring at him. Almost all of them looked at him like he was a criminal, and it stabbed his heart deeper than any words had ever done before. He hated the way people looked at him, even if it wasn't angry, it caused him to feel… singled out. He sighed out loudly and blew out another sigh forcefully. He made a slight tremble.

The earth pony's back hooves ached from all of the apple bucking he had done that day. His employer, Sheriff Silverstar, was one of the few ponies who would still talk to him without being overly judgmental about what the rumors were saying. Then again, he remained one of the most loyal employees, and considering his circumstances he had to, he never complained about the long hours or under pay. He needed to work, just to live, like everypony else.

His emerald colored eyes blinked leisurely as the twilight sky began to set in the distance. He really didn't want to go home and find out what wonder somepony would have left in his apartment. Another death threat? A flier trying to change him? Or maybe another classic, a rock flying through his window with a hate letter attached! Yippee...

The yellow pony licked his lips as he felt his mane stick to his face. His body was still sleek with sweat from all of the running and kicking he had to do. He wasn't one to complain, but it was pretty bucking hot. It was one of those days were your skin stayed moist from sweat even indoors and you simply needed a nice and cool shower with ice cold water seeping through your coat. Appleloosa was famous for things like that, being so far south, Celestia couldn't help that the sun was so much closer to them; she simply rose and set it every day.

The earth pony sighed yet again. Sighing had become a major habit of his; he wasn't able to help it much at this point he had become so accustomed to it. In fact, it might be one of the few reasons why he hadn't broken down yet, it was a way to let out the teeniest tiniest bit of his feelings out without those damn eyes following his every movement.

The sounds of night were faint, the buffalo herd in the distance settling down after a day of stampeding, the few animals around going to bed for then night, and the townsfolk themselves ready to repeat their own lives the next day.

The earth pony lifted his head just as the last essence of twilight was about to fade from the sky. He glanced to the local watering hole, The Salt Block. Of course they sold real bar drinks, but almost all of their food was covered in pounds of salt. And in this kind of weather, he knew the owner was just a cheapskate who gave unsuspecting tourists a free sample only to charge them twenty bits for a glass of water. It was a good strategy yes, but a little cruel in Braeburn's eyes.

Braeburn adjusted the worn out vest around his body and blinked to adjust his eyes to the darkness, only to find himself wandering straight to the door of The Salt Block, light pouring into his vision. He wasn't usually one to drink, but these days he found himself needing one or else he wouldn't be able to get to sleep his thoughts were so clouded with thoughts on how he was ever going to pay the rent. Yet another thing he had to deal with these past few months.

Braeburn glanced up, tipping his hat to the bartender. The bartender looked grumpy, but to be fair, he usually looked like that, but to be unfair, it didn't help when he grumbled something under his breath the moment Braeburn walked in. The yellow earth pony did a quick glance around the room. There was only one other customer in the place, which was odd considering that this was the only saloon in town, but then again it wasn't the weekend.

The first thing that drew Braeburn's attention about the customer was the large wings pressed against his back as he sat on a small cushion right in front of the counter. His coat was a pale blue while his mane and tale were a dark, royal blue, and extremely messy and windblown by the looks of it. It was almost as if the colt flew all the time and his hair had just become stuck like that.

Braeburn shrugged it off as the colt just being a passerby stopping for a drink and a place to rest for the night as he trotted up "The usual..." He grumbled to the taller, gray colt with greased hair in a fancy looking tuxedo. He had a single eyepiece and a black mustache. He seemed too proper to fit in this town, but then again, Braeburn wasn't one to speak with all the rumors...

"Humph!" The grumpy colt said before rolling his eyes and walking off. Braeburn sighed. Another day without any small talk between them. There hadn't been much day to day conversations with the other townsfolk since everything happened, it stopped hurting his feeling a long time ago… mostly, at least.

The yellow pony glanced to his right, a brow cocking up as he saw the pair of blue goggles with a lightning bolt hanging around the other's neck by a rubber strap. The earth pony blinked. He could have sworn he knew that design from somewhere...

Thoughts one again were interrupted when a glass was all but slammed in front of him. He blinked and looked up at the owner before reaching into his vest pocket and pulling out a bit and placing it on the counter. The owner looked at it as if it contained unspeakable filth.

"Damn coltcuddler..." He grumbled rather loudly, making sure that Braeburn heard it. The earth pony winced; he didn't even try to hide it. He felt as though he had been spit on and then laughed at by the other, a false sense of victory in the other's face. That damn word that had followed him to the ends of the earth for the past three months still stung him deep in his chest. He didn't know what he was supposed to do either; he was in no way forceful nor unfriendly, even when he tried his best. He just sat there and took it, because he had no other choice.

The colt sitting next to him suddenly glanced over at him with a raised brow. He must think he was disgusting. The corner of his emerald eyes couldn't read past the pegasi's poker face. He didn't want to look over, the glare he knew was likely coming from his caused his eyes to water before he shuttered the yellow lids shut, calming himself down. He quietly chanted to himself to not make a scene, not in public.

The bartender turned to walk away and Braeburn sighed loudly, letting out the slightest hint of his anger and embarrassment. He saw the hoof slap onto the table and pull his money moved away from him. He went to grab the cool glass just to get his damn thoughts and feelings hazy before a voice interrupted him.

"Dude, I wouldn't drink that..." The colt next to him suddenly whispered in a slightly hushed tone. Braeburn stopped what he was doing. The voice of the other obviously wasn't from around these parts, if anything it sounded slightly redundant or jockey. Braeburn himself never found any interest in sports, or anything. Apple bucking was really all he knew. He glanced over at the other and blinked slowly, confusion showing on his face. "W-What?"

"I seriously think that dude spit in it." The pegasus grumbled out, pointing with his head toward the gray owner in an over necessarily obvious way, ears perked up and eyes wide. Braeburn glanced at the owner then back into the colt's green eyes that mirrored his own. He sighed before pushing the drink away and laying his head on the table. He wouldn't put it past the gray stallion to do something like that. He wouldn't put it past anypony to do something like that at this point in time.

Something cold hit his front leg as Braeburn glanced to his side to find the other had moved closer to him. The colt blinked before sitting up and noticing the half empty drink rubbing against his sweaty coat. "W-What... what's this 'ere for?" He asked, poking it gently with his hoof.

"Dunno dude, you just seem like you need a pick me up. Wasn't gonna tell you 'cause I thought you might be a jerk, but after he said that..." The pale blue pegasus mumbled "Might be covered in my slobber, but it sure as hell ain't some cranky salt man's spit!" He seemed friendly, and he knew about the rumor spreading around... what was the catch?

Braeburn felt something hit his stomach as it suddenly became light and bouncy. He swore in his mind at himself to get a grip before he looked at the drink. He finally shrugged and took it in his hoof, gulping half of the half in less than a second before gasping for air and setting it down. The other looked at him and smiled warmly. The butterflies returned.

"Name's Soarin. Just Soarin... probably heard of me..." He said the last part as he puffed out his chest a little, yet his eyes which Braeburn only glanced at seemed a little… tired. He was a few inches taller than Braeburn, and seemed strong for being a pegasus, if you took in the fact that earth ponies were three times stronger than unicorns or pegasi.

"Sorry... should I?" Braeburn asked, running his hoof through his soft, golden mane awkwardly. His eyes shifted across the countertop.

Soarin looked shocked a moment before smiling warmly once more. He didn't seem all that bright, but he didn't seem all that terrible or mean either. "No, I guess not... it's kind of a refresher after all the crazy fangir-" He cut off his own speech before chuckling awkwardly, tracing a few circles on the countertop that was in Braeburn's line of vision. "Never mind, dude, you seem cool."

What in the name of Equestria was a dude? Braeburn hadn't seen many pegasi in his life, he was born and raised in a colony surrounded by earth ponies, and only recently left for Appleloosa, which only had earth ponies as well. The few times he had seen any real pegasi or Unicorns were passerby travelers or his cousin Applejack's unicorn and pegasi friends. Did they all talk like this?

"Um... thank ya' kindly... for the heads up back 'er." Braeburn mumbled, taking another small sip. The eyes of the other looked at him, his cheeks rose to a blush at the (likely) older pegasus's gaze. He swore in his mind yet again, and began to feel ashamed.

"I was told things were like this here, man." Soarin grumbled out, running a hoof through his mane as he closed his eyes a moment and shook his head "Hell, I've seen it, but listen here, man. Pegasus, hell, even unicorns don't treat me this badly!" He grumbled. "I don't see why earth ponies are so intolerable about this crap." Braeburn felt like he should say something to defend his kind, but his mouth remained dry as he took another cautious sip. He didn't feel like the insult was directed at him, so he didn't push it. He did however feel his belly knot in guilt for agreeing with his statement, even for a moment.

"So... what is that there... intolerable crap?" Braeburn asked, glancing to his side at the ruffs of fur on the pegasi's chest. For some reason, the next thing his mind imagined was feeling those soft tufts of the fur act as a blanket toward him. He snapped back to reality, cursing himself silently. He bit his lip and let his cheeks blush a pale red.

"Y'know, everypony around here against me and other coltcuddlers..." Soarin grumbled.

Braeburn almost spit out his drink that shocked him so much. He slammed a hoof over his mouth to keep the drink in before swallowing roughly and gasping for air. This pegasus was a coltcuddler? He seemed to... attractive to be a... No, wait, he was not attractive, just handsome, in a mare's perspective. Braeburn felt angry at himself again, and he closed his eyes to prevent the water from brewing.

Soarin chuckled "That much of a shock eh?" He asked. "Want the truth, dude? I like both."

Braeburn glanced at him "Y-You just… I m-mean… that isn't right!" He said, stunned slightly.

Soarin looked confused "Um... alright dude, whatever you say." He sounded unconvinced, but a slight look of understanding dawned in his eyes. Braeburn didn't like that brief moment very much. "Then what was up with that comment back there from that owner?"

"It's jus' a rumor, nothin' else." Braeburn grumbled out, reaching up a shaky hoof and pulling his hat down past his own eyes. He could tell Soarin was taking a good look at him, likely his mane. He wasn't fond of his mane; it seemed too girly and soft for him. But nonetheless, the pegasus just stared at it and chuckled gently, causing Braeburn to blush even further and bite his lip as the owner of the saloon eyed them cautiously.

"Pegasi... don't... think it's wrong?" Braeburn mumbled gently.

Soarin shrugged "Most of em, unicorns usually don't care, but they're a little more mixed, and then earth ponies hate it, it's like they think we're still a hundred years in the past, the further you go this way the worse it gets. Do you live under a rock or something country colt?"

There was something about this pegasus, something familiar... Like he had seen or heard of him somewhere before. Braeburn took another gentle sip of his drink. He wanted to leave.

"So it's just a rumor eh, country dude?" Soarin asked. Braeburn felt a little annoyance at being called a 'dude' once more. He sighed out and glanced to the other. It seemed rude to just tell him to buzz off, and he was too friendly after all this time of hate and nasty looks for the yellow pony to even want to turn him away "How come ya keep blushing?" He said in a teasingly manor. He had to be drunk, just a little.

Braeburn wanted to leave that moment. He kept reminding himself that he hated colts, and that he was supposed to be attracted to mares and mares alone. The comments seemed to do nothing as the blush crept back as the older's snout came close enough for the earth pony to feel warm breath on his ear. He adjusted his cowpony hat cautiously.

"I-It's hot..." He made the excuse up. Soarin looked like he didn't buy it once more. The two sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity and a half before Braeburn finally spoke up "T'aint fair." He mumbled, catching Soarin's attention. "I built this here town from the ground up, planted dem there apple trees, and I was here from the start! Why does everypony 'ave to go and treat me like some kinda criminal!" He growled.

Soarin rolled his eyes "Lighten up man..." This time Braeburn felt hurt, and anger was already in his blood. He was never a hurtful or violent pony. He grumbled out something before the pegasus spoke up again "Life's too damn short to act like you're dying."

Braeburn blinked away the tears that he could feel forming in his own eyes. He felt angry, upset, and most of all, this pegasus was pissing him off.

"So..." Soarin began "You seem like a pretty cool little dude, wanna hook up tomorrow? Say three?" Something rubbed against his cutie mark teasingly. He was pretty certain it was the other's wing. This time Braeburn did spit out his drink, right into his hooves as his cheeks lit a vibrant red. He was dead silent a few moments before closing his eyes and simply standing up and trotting out of the store in anger. This time tears WERE in his eyes, and he fought to keep them down. When he burst out of The Salt Block it was already nighttime, the sky was filled with over a million stars as the earth pony hit the ground.

"Hey, wait!" Soarin called, flying out of the saloon and landing right in front of Braeburn. "Dude, what's up?" He asked, his damn goofy smile still plastered onto his face.

Braeburn bit his lip "I ain't a coltcuddler!" He cried out, anger finally breaking his eyes mixed with fear and sorrow that even he didn't notice "Move!"

Soarin didn't budge, somehow knowing the yellow pony didn't have the guts to kick him aside. Braeburn huffed out air; his own watering eyes didn't help his image. Soarin rolled his eyes "Denial." He mumbled "Don't see why it's such a damn big deal to you earth ponies, I can see it all over your face... and by the way, dude, it's red."

Braeburn wanted to growl, but found himself sniffling as he turned away. He felt pissed, he really did. He didn't think he had been this angry in a long time. He closed his eyes and huffed and puffed "I-I can't alright, I won't!" He said.

"And...why?" Soarin asked, in a redundant voice of confusion.

Braeburn bit his lip once more "I'm on my own, alright?" He said "My 'arents kicked me out because I let it slip that I like colts, it was a gosh darn slip of the tongue, I swear, and they just blabbed 'bout it to everypony in town, almost none of them talk to me anymore. I've been trying to gain their trust back, but if they see me with you they..." Tears were now welling in his eyes "I just want things to go back to normal... it just ain't right for me to be a coltcuddler like ya."

"Why dontchya just leave, man?" Soarin asked.

Leave? He never even considered that. Leaving these parts... just felt like he didn't belong. "Ah'm mighty sorry to say mister Soarin, but I don't think we see eye to eye on this, will ya please just let me go?"

Soarin looked down at him before shrugging and stepping to the side. The earth pony trotted by, glancing up at the older as he passed. Pegasi sure were strange... he had never met somepony so... strange before...

"So... I'll see you at three?"

Braeburn stopped dead before turning around "Come 'gain?"

"Three, for the hook-up."

"I said no!" Braeburn said, the confusion in his voice clear as day.

"So... three thirty?"

Braeburn turned and growled under his breath without saying another word, stomping away in anger, confusion, sorrow, frustration, and most of all, guilt. He felt something when looking at the other, his cheeks kept blushing...

What an idiot...


	2. Chapter 2

[b]Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.

-  
"Can't you just leave me alone?"  
-

Winding Roads  
Chapter 2: Just One Date?[/b]

[i]The small and yellow colt kept his hooves cupped over his ears, his own eyes filling to the brim in tears. He kept sniffling lightly, his nose running. He bit his lower lip harder and pressed his hooves tighter as the sounds of yelling found themselves into his eardrums, taunting and tormenting him. His body was still trembling; he couldn't help it at this point. He squeezed his eyes tight, trying to block out all vision and sound so he could vanish into nonexistence, and stop causing everypony harm...

"I'm sorry…" He whimpered out gently "I'm sorry… I'll be good…"

A smash caused him to jump. It sounded as if a hoof had slammed into a wall in anger. "How the hell could this happen to Braeburn?"

The small colt named Braeburn opened his teary eyes; the wall separating him from the voice of anger was thin. He clamped his hooves tighter, but to no prevails. If anything it only gave him a headache. His ears were pressed against his scalp in sorrow. He tried to shift his own body, but simply whimpered in pain. He settled on lying down and curling up under the thick blanket.

If anything, he at least felt safe. The blanket was burning hot as his cheeks flushed from the crying. However he was far too afraid to come out of the safety of it, it gave him what little security it could offer, which was more than enough for the young colt at the moment. He wished somepony would tell him why the ponies were yelling.

"Honey... are you sure he wasn't joking? Kids do that often these days, maybe he... I know you don't like his mane, but..." The second voice trailed off. While it sounded much kinder, it was also filled with a tone that struck the tiny colt with guilt right through his chest. He covered his mouth to keep in his sobs that were wracking around his body, attempting to find an escape through his mouth that he had to forcibly block off to keep in the horrible chocking sounds.

"Damn kid pretty much insisted on it... I can't believe he wasn't disgusted by the thought, we need to whip his hind in proper shape before he gets any weird ideas in his mind." The rough voice growled. Braeburn bit his lip harder, causing blood to draw to skin. What had he done wrong?

A long silence filled the air. Braeburn could hardly breathe he was attempting so hard not to start bawling out a stream of tears. He let out a half-muffled sob into his upper legs as his chest shook and rumbled with deep sobs that began to surface. The movement of his sobbing caused his back to begin to act up again. It was dotted in bruises in all shapes and sizes, with a long gash on the earth pony's cheek that began to bleed into his hooves.

"Our son is acting like a bucking coltcuddler for Celestia's sake..."

He felt like a bad pony. A really [b]really[/b] bad pony.[/i]

[b]-[/b]

Braeburn felt his own eyes snap open. His body was covered in sweat once more as he found himself breathing in and out heavily, his head suddenly had a massive migraine. He whimpered gently before closing his eyes and rubbing his mane with a hoof to clear his thoughts. He glanced up with a pair of blurry, emerald eyes out the window. It was still nighttime... the sun wasn't even on the verge of the horizon by the looks of it, the wispy rays of orange not yet shimmering. It took him several minutes to settle down and realize he was back in the real world, not his dream. After that he blinked a pair of blurry eyes and bit his lip to keep it from the quivering that caused him to feel weak.

Braeburn began rubbing his hoof over his forehead to wipe the sweat from his brow. It was the same dream that had been coming to him for three months. Something from his childhood? Something he perhaps made up? He had major doubts about the ladder of the two considering how vibrant and realistic it seemed. He also wasn't sure he wanted to fully remember all of the details, he may have simply wanted it to remain a repressed memory.

The yellow colt sniffled gently. He couldn't help it, the dream just stung him deep in his heart at times. He sighed as one of his habits entailed as he rubbed a tired eye, wanting to drift back into sleep, his aching hooves still hurting from the day's work.

He laid his head back down, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. He rubbed a few tufts of fur covering his chest in circles, as his mind drifted to the strange pegasus for no reason other than him being willing enough to get the dream out of mind. He suddenly felt lonely, in this large, cold bed all alone.

The thought of the breath going down his ear and trailing to the back of the earth pony's neck as it did earlier caused Braeburn to seize up in slight excitement. He instantly felt guilt, and proceeded to squeeze his head inside of his pillow, hooves clamping over ears through it, an attempt to block out all of the sounds in his mind. He hated himself more than anypony should these days, perhaps more than any of the ponies giving him nasty looks and calling him names.

He grumbled to himself under his breath out words that he himself couldn't even comprehend. He looked into the sky once more, Princess Luna's moon giving off a light that basked the area around them. He blinked several times as Soarin found a way to creep into his thoughts. It was so strange... to have somepony not spit on him for simply existing for once after the past few months...

Stupid Soarin whatshisname...

[b]-[/b]

His hoof slammed into the mid-section of the large apple tree. The weight on his back suddenly increased as he all but collapsed before managing to catch his own weight as he stood up tall, breathing heavily as the final few apples fell into place. He sighed, looking high into the sky. It had to be around two or three... it was the time of day when he felt like dying because he was so overheated from the sun's harsh rays whilst carrying boatloads of apples on his back. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes as he yawned.

Braeburn was right, he didn't get back to sleep last night. He quietly adjusted his cowpony hat to block his eyes from the harsh rays of sunlight casting down on him through the thinning branches of leaves. It was almost winter time in Appleloosa, and if he wasn't able to harvest enough along with the other workers, the whole town would starve. At least the whole Buffalo incident was over and done with, they only came here once a year, and that was during summertime when the apples were ripe. His eyes began to feel sore. He wanted a rest, or a cat nap, or anything to make the pupils stop hurting.

Braeburn looked up at the green leaves slowly tinting orange. He wasn't looking forward to the winter wrap up in Appleloosa, what with no pegasi or unicorns to help, Cloudsdale simply sent out teams of pegasi to give snow clouds to all the towns and it was pretty much their own job to clean it up. He licked his dry lips. He still had a few more hours left until he had bucked enough apples to satisfy Sheriff Silverstar. While being the most loyal employee, he had to keep his reputation up, or else he feared the Sheriff would have no reason to keep on hiring him.

The yellow earth pony sighed as he shook his head, his own mane sticking to his neck once more. He sometimes hated the heat in this town. He opened his emerald eyes and used his upper leg to wipe the sweat from his brow once more. He briefly thought about taking off his vest, although he feared he might lose it in such a large place...

"Hey dude!"

The sudden voice forced each and every hair on the yellow pony's coat to stand on end as his eyes shot open and he gasped in surprise, falling over and therefore causing all of the apples in the barrels on his sides to fall over onto his body, burying his upper half as his legs twitched slightly from shock.

"You alright?" The voice could only belong to one pony.

"Soarin..." Braeburn grumbled, sitting up, all of the now bruised apples falling off of him as he rubbed his head which was now pounding with a headache. He whimpered gently, showing a brief moment of weakness in the eyes of the pegasus in front of him. He glanced up at Soarin, who at the current moment was busy stuffing his face with an apple with a strange look of pure delight in his eyes.

"What are ya doing her-"

"Oh dude, these apples are bucking delicious!" Soarin said, in a voice only describable as a fanboy squeal as he grabbed another and shoved it in his mouth, as if inhaling it. Braeburn shrunk away slightly as bits of food splashed against his face. So he was rude... and a slob. How in the hay did he even manage to sneak up on the earth pony anyhow? Braeburn shook off his spooks about the unnoticeable pegasus and glared straight into his green eyes that reflected his own like a mirror.

"What are ya doin' here? No, wait, how did ya even find me?" Braeburn asked, dumbfounded and baffled by the pegasus.

Soarin finished his apple in one bit, simply spitting out the core onto the ground, taking his swell time to turn back toward the earth pony as he licked the apple juice off of his light blue lips. "Dunno, just wanted some apples and I found you here, funny how that works, huh dude?"

"In the name of cinnamon swirls, stop calling me a dude..." Braeburn grumbled, eyes darting away from the pegasus as his cheeks tinted a rosy red.

"Ok then... funny how that works, huh man?" Now Soarin was just trying to piss off the earth pony.

"Don't call me that there either!" Braeburn snapped out, annoyance behind his green eyes which were ready to burst into flames of anger if he didn't calm down soon. Why the buck was he blushing for this idiot? Better yet, why was he blushing for a colt at all?

"You never told me your name, what else am I supposed to call you?" Soarin asked, a little teasing in his voice as Braeburn's own blush increased and he visibly winced at it. He felt like an idiot now...

"Braeburn..." He mumbled "It's just Braeburn Apple a'right? Now what are ya doing here?" He couldn't look the older in the eyes, afraid he would tint even further. He hated himself so damn much at the moment.

"Alrighty then, Braeburn," Soarin said, smiling in a goofy way at the yellow earth pony "So mister 'I'm not a coltcuddler', How about that date you promised me?" He asked, his eyes glimmering as he flapped his wings and floated over to the other, hovering about five inches from his face and looking dead into the darting eyes.

"I didn't promise ya nothin'!" Braeburn protested, finding himself stepping back before backing straight into the tree he had just finished bucking. He turned his head away from the floating pegasus. "'Sides, I gotta work on these here apples or else all of the people'll starve!"

"So you don't want them to starve, even though they all hate you?" Soarin asked, cocking up a brow and blinking his emerald eyes.

"Course not!" Braeburn said, stomping a hoof on the ground as he turned to face the other "I'm not letting my own town starve ta death, regardless of what they think of me!"

Soarin was silent for several moments before smiling once more happily "You're a good colt, Braeburn," He said "Don't know if I would be able to do what you do if my entire town hated me, but you stick through it, I like you even more!" This caused Braeburn to find himself blushing even more, his mouth tried to say something but it simply went dry and he grew deeper into the pit of embarrassment he had dug himself into. "Aww, ain't that cute?" Soarin asked, reaching out a hoof and patting the cheeks of the younger before floating away several feet as he inspected his surroundings, leaving the yellow pony dumbfounded. He… strangely liked the teasing that time…

Cute? Were colts supposed to be cute at his age? Handsome maybe, but [b]cute[/b]? He blushed so vibrantly that his eyes watered in embarrassment, he began to hate himself more and more by the second. He was losing to this pegasus. He hated losing to this idiotic, nut ball, coltcuddler!

"Why don't ya jus' go home?" Braeburn mumbled "Why do ya keep hanging 'round me like this?" He sounded desperate at this point, he was slipping further and further down as his body began to break down.

"No can do, sorry." Soarin mumbled as he picked a random apple on the tree and began to eat it up "Oh Luna, these things are great! Anyway," He said though a full mouth "Me and my squad can't leave for another two weeks, we got a few shows around these parts, so I guess you're stuck with me till then!"

Squad? Show? Did he preform or something? His gaze drifted down from the face of the pegasus back to the goggles hanging around his neck. He seriously thought he knew this colt from somewhere. "T-Then why me, why not some other coltcuddler, I'm sure there's a real one somewhere! I mean, good gravy, I'm not a coltcuddler for Celestia's sake!" He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, not stating a fact.

"Because you look like you're suffering..." Was all Soarin said, his tone serious as he reached a hoof down into the tree, a branch casting a shadow on his face so Braeburn couldn't read his emotion. It was strange to hear such a serious tone in the goofy pegasus for once, but it was there, and it made Braeburn's fur stick up once more. It wasn't in fear this time. "I don't like it when colts go through their whole life in denial and then decide they made the wrong choice before it was too late, and you seem like a pretty nice guy and all, my type... And it could also be due to I don't like to see cutie's like you go through pain like this" He trailed off, glancing down at the earth pony's red face. He didn't tease him this time, just looked at him thoughtfully with a small smirk on his face.

"I...I... But I'm not in denial… I mean, no, wait, I just…" Braeburn's mind tossed and turned, but couldn't find a suitable comeback for the light blue pegasus. He closed his eyes and gently begged himself to not let out a whimper of weakness.

"Sooooo, you gotta buck all these apples, huh?" Soarin asked, his tone back to being light, as if he sensed the yellow pony's distress and decided to change the subject. Braeburn glanced up, daring to meet the emerald eyes as he slowly nodded, reaching up a hoof to slowly adjust his hat to hide his glistening eyes. Soarin's words were hurting him, and the worst part was he couldn't come up with any other reason than the one he refused to admit. They were true.

"'Tis one of the reasons I can't just get up 'n go with you... not that I would anyway..." He added the last part little more than a whisper, in the back of his mind hoping the older didn't hear it, or simply chose to ignore it. "I won't be done 'till at least another three hours if I move my hind..."

"Well that's no good for me, I got myself a show tonight!" Soarin said, tapping his chin with a hoof as if pondering a moment. "I know!" He said "Why don't you come with me tonight and watch me and I'll call us even!"

"Even?" Braeburn asked, cocking up a brow.

"Y'know... for giving you my drink..." Soarin said, as if the answer was obvious, he flew down to the other and hovered on his back, his upside down face three inches from his.

"Half a beer is not worth the same amoun' as a date!" Braeburn grumbled, slamming a hoof into his face in, what could only be described ask, an epic facehoof.

The pegasus chose not to hear him as he soared down and grabbed a barrel, holding it up "So, how many of these do you need filled up by the end of the day before you can leave?"

"Twenty..."

"And how many have you filled up?" The light blue pegasus inquired. Braeburn didn't answer, he simply blushed and tried his best to avoid eye contact with the other for fear of blushing. He could hear playful chuckling "Guess I'll just have to fill up twenty then!" He said.

"Wait... wha?" Braeburn asked before Soarin flew into an apple tree with the barrel, the tree shook for a few moments and the pegasus then flew to another tree and repeated the process, then another, then another. After a good thirty seconds he returned with a full barrel, not a single sweat broken. Braeburn felt him mouth drop open to which the pegasus closed it manually with his hoof. His blush returned as the hoof playfully teased its way up and off his neck, to which the earth pony gulped and trembled with chill, despite the burning hot sun beating down on him. It would have taken him thirty minutes to fill up that barrel, it wasn't like he was Applejack who had bucked all her life, and he had only started this past year! This pegasus who never bucked an apple in his life just got in thirty seconds!

"So... nineteen more? Where do I get more barrels, we gotta catch the train!" Soarin said.

"Wait... train?" The earth pony all but squeaked out "In the name of Betsy, where are ya taking me?"

"The show you featherbrain!" Soarin said. "You promised me a date, and I can't carry you there, I'll be too exhausted to preform!" He rolled his eyes as if the earth pony was stupid.

"I never agreed on a date, and I never said I wa-"

"Whatever, I'll find them myself, alright, and then we can leave." Soarin said.

"O-Okay... no, wait just a horseshoe minut'!" He couldn't finish before Soarin began shooting out his wings out and soaring in the sky faster than Braeburn saw even Applejack's filly friend move. He blinked and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the complete and utter stupidity of the conversation they just went through.

Braeburn blushed again, and this time, he couldn't help it that his eyes glimmered with tears from his own frustration. He didn't know why this pegasus pissed him off yet made him blush so much, it made him feel like he was doing something wrong... something immoral. The dream came back to his mind once more, and his eyes watered.

He was pretty sure he just agreed to have a date with another colt.

Buck.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"If I could... would I say I love you?"**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Chapter 3: The Wonderbolts**

It wasn't the first time Braeburn thought about how in the buck he had gotten on this train, full of all these ponies staring at him. No, it was around the seventh billionth and a half time he had pondered this question, but his mind always came up short with an answer. His green eyes stared back at him through the reflection in the window as his cheek rested on his hoof. He chewed on his inner cheek and rolled his tongue across his teeth. The hills quickly rolled by. He was glad for the scenery, he wasn't sure how well he would hold up if he tried to talk to Soarin, who practically drug him onto the train. The yellow pony didn't want to blush again. He couldn't decide on an answer, yet again. Everything that happened a few hours ago was still sort of a blur in his memories.

So many things... so many things didn't make sense today. The dream had to be a warning, it just had to be.

His head turned back to the rest of the cart, his eyes passing over the light blue pegasus seemingly bouncing up and down next to him. It had unicorn, pegasi, and earth ponies alike. It was strange to see such a mixture of ponies in the same place. He heard from Applejack that Ponyville was very much alike, being dead smack in the center of Appleloosa, Canterlot, and Cloudsdale. Many of them were staring at the pegasus next to him, as if he was famous or something... maybe he was... Braeburn wasn't sure what to think anymore... At least they were kind, and didn't try and bother the pegasus or anything. But Braeburn felt completely out of the loop and borderline stupid for not being able to know where he had seen or heard of the pegasus before.

"Dude, Brae, this'll be so cool, it's your first time going to a flight show, huh?" Soarin asked, a goofy grin on his face as he grabbed the others upper leg, staring straight into his eyes. Braeburn felt his cheeks tint in color. "Aw, man, first time in a show and you'll get to see the entire thing from the best seat in the house!"

"T-The best seat, ya mean it?" Braeburn asked, suddenly missing the moving hills as he was either forced to look at a random pony creepily, or straight at the pale blue, maybe-famous, pegasus and risk blushing. He just blinked several times and focused on the others mane, admiring the odd shape it held.

"Yeah, dude, since you're my buddy you'll be backstage and everything, some ponies would kill for that, and you aren't even freaking out!" This was in fact true, if anything, Soarin was causing more of a scene than he was. "I can't believe it, buddy, you really haven't heard of us, have you?"

Buddy? Braeburn wasn't able to determine how he felt on this after several moments of tossing and turning in his mind. It felt nice to have a friend in the middle of this mix up he supposed... but not [b]that[/b] kind of friend for Celestia's sake!

"Totally think you'll have a blast, the food is usually great, especially their apples!" Soarin said quickly, his face lighting up as he giggled, which Braeburn cursed himself for finding the tiniest bit adorable, even through the raspy voice. "Not as good as Appleloosa apples though, I just love your places apples, almost as good as that filly's at the gal-" A hoof was slammed over his mouth as Braeburn felt his brow twitch.

"Please... for the sake of Luna, just please shut your pie hole about apples..." Braeburn said, his head spinning a bit as his mind flashed too all of those mares his parents had forcibly set him up with him before he had been thrown out. Their fast talking he had been forced to endure still gave him nightmares at times.

"A-Alright dude." Soarin said, his cheeks lighting slightly. He stared right at the earth pony with wide, questioning eyes, as if he were studying him closely before looking away and shrugging. Braeburn felt like everypony was watching him now thanks to Soarin's loud mouth. He didn't like that feeling, he hated it if he were singled out.

Braeburn glanced up briefly at the other's cheeks. If they were still at the bar, he would take pride in the fact he got the annoying pegasus to become embarrassed, but right now it was just amusing to see him blush so adorab-... bright... No, the pegasus wasn't cute at times, nor could he be attractive or handsome in Braeburn's eyes. He just...

His thoughts stopped there, and an empty silence filled the two, the only sounds were small talk among other ponies around them as well as the clickity clacking of the train as it rolled through the towns. Once again, Braeburn pondered how he got into this situation. All he remembered really was being dragged pretty much against his own free will.

"Aw, Man, look! Isn't that totally sick?" Soarin hissed out, pointing with his hoof out of the window. Braeburn's own gaze followed as he saw a fairly large city, certainly larger than what he would consider comfortable. The most noticeable attraction, however, was the fact that there was a stadium, with lights blazing up as the last glimpses of twilight were on the edge of the sky.

This time yesterday he had wanted nothing more than a drink.

"So um... do you think you can run?" Soarin suddenly asked. "Really fast, I mean."

Braeburn was taken aback by this question as he whipped his head around, his fillyish mane following him "E'cuse me?" Well that came out of nowhere.

"Well... I... nothing." Soarin said, looking away and neatly folding his hooves over his lap as his eyes rolled up, looking away as much as possible, chuckling nervously.

"I-I guess... but why?" Braeburn asked, shrinking back slightly as he thought about it more and more.

"Um... because I don't know if I can carry you over the fangir..." The pegasus stopped there before suddenly chucking "N-Never mind!" He quickly said, holding up both to show it was nothing to worry about, however his chuckling seemed guilty, and Braeburn felt himself gulp rather loudly. "J-Just try to be light on your hooves... Alright buddy?"

Braeburn found his coat stand on end as his eyes widened and his body trembled in fear. A celebrity was hitting on him... and he seemed to be pretty big... and there were going to be fans of his... female fans... He quickly grabbed his hat and pulled it over his heart with watery eyes as he apologized to the two princess for everything he had done in a lifetimes worth to cause anypony else trouble... if they were big enough to make the news to Appleloosa... and got a picture in the paper with Soarin hitting on him once more... he didn't want to know what would happen.

He was going to regret this night... wasn't he?

[b]-[/b]

Braeburn shifted uncomfortably as he brought up a hoof to dust off his tattered and worn vest. the crowd hadn't been as bad as he anticipated, just fairly large and easy to get lost in, considering at least he had expected to lose his virginity or something in the crowd. No, they had been given a personal route just for them since Soarin was so popular and he had a non-pegasus guest.

The yellow earth pony's ears changed from being pressed down to going back up, then repeating again and again as he tried to adjust to then noise level. He didn't enjoy places shouting, or loud, or just plain uncomfortable to the ears in any way. Maybe that was why he never had a burning desire to leave home...

Braeburn blushed as he couldn't help but feel like everypony was looking at him as his eyes shifted right to left. He had taken to staring at one spot for long enough to find the meaning of life in it so he could avoid looking at all of the higher class ponies who had likely paid a fortune just to get back here. The women were in stylish dresses and saddlebags while the men wore bow-ties and tuxedos. He stuck out like a sore thumb. The only non-high class ponies seemed to stick to the pegasus in the squad individually, likely family members.. but they were still in at least non-noticeable clothes, not like Braeburn's work duds. It also looked very proper, high class with expensive foods drifting to his nose, tables with lacy and frou-frou patterns, and the kind of food that was barely more than a mouthful. He never did understand that part.

"Hurry up and change..." Braeburn whimpered gently as he shifted once more. Everypony was watching him... seeing how different he looked.

The small pass hung around his neck, grabbing it with his hoof and holding it up to his eyesight to see something other than the tiles on the floor. He glanced at it once more. Wonderbolts is what it said, in bright yellow letters with lightning bolts. It took a moment to realize that Soarin was on it, while being a mouth-drawn picture, it was still clearly him, cutie mark on that strange uniform and all...

Didn't... didn't one of his cousins friends talk non-stop about the Wonderbolts? He thought for a moment, and for a brief second a rainbow flashed past his thoughts before a hoof landed on his shoulder. He whipped around to see a female mare in a Wonderbolt costume. She was the same golden yellow as he was, and her mane was giant, and even more wind-blown than Soarin's own. She smiled warmly at him before her mouth opened. "Never seen you before, how'd you manage to snag a pass back here?"

"I...I err..." Braeburn said, searching through his mind to put it gently he was drug here against his own will and could likely expect a date rape in the near future if he wasn't careful in a place like this. Or at least that was what he feared.

After studying his clothes and look for a moment, face suddenly lit up "Oh, cool, you're that earth pony Soarin was talking about!" She said "I'm Spitfire, the leader of the mares on our squad, Soarin leads the stallions, he couldn't shut up about you, and I'll tell you that!" She said.

"S-Soarin... was talkin'... 'bout me?" Braeburn said, turning his head away in an attempt to hide his face from Spitfire, but he thought that would simply be too rude and forced himself to turn back, avoiding her eyes at all costs. She chuckled lightly. His mouth went dry. He looked deep into her eyes for about five seconds. He didn't feel anything... not even the fluttery feeling like when Soarin laughed or teased him gently.

"Yeah, looks like he wasn't lying when he called you a real cutie." The yellow pegasus said, laughing out loud. It wasn't in any way mocking him, it was just joking around. Braeburn blushed deeply, but only because he now knew that Soarin's entire squad had heard him be called a "cutie". "Snagged yourself a real hot one there did ya?" She asked, cocking up a brow.

"I... ya just don't under... I didn't... I'm not a coltcu-" Braeburn couldn't find the right words as his tongue tripped over itself again and again before he lowered his head and hopped the other wouldn't be able to see his watering eyes. He felt embarrassed... yet was still trying to figure out why this pegasus wasn't calling his names, spitting on him, or even trying to hurt him... Maybe Soarin was right and pegasi really didn't care all that much. He hated that he was about to cry, he truly did... he sometimes found himself doing it alone in his apartment, and alone in the alley the night his parents...

"Miss me, man?" A sudden voice came as Braeburn felt weight increase on his back and a muzzle pressed into the back of his neck, breathing in the apply scent before the muzzle backed away and the yellow pony heard a moan of delight "Man that smells good."

"G-Get off ya idiot!" Braeburn grumbled as he squirmed a bit, and Soarin got off his back, fully dressed in the Wonderbolt costume up to his head, which still had the hood around his neck. Spitfire rolled her eyes.

"Guess I better not interrupt you two." She said before flapping her wings and gliding away toward the other teammates.

Braeburn glanced to Soarin, who was staring at him with thoughtful eyes. Did the pegasus... did Soarin see he was about to cry from being under pressure? He had seriously become such a sissy since all of these rumors started. Maybe it was just unlikely thinking on the yellow pony's part for imagining Soarin somehow noticing his distress and coming to the rescue like a night in shining armor...

Soarin soon went back to his usual goofy smile as soon as he realized Braeburn had calmed his tears down. Braeburn missed his thoughtful glance much more. He seemed a lot smarter and kinder with it... he had a big heart, at least Braeburn hoped he did.

"Ok, dude, you gotta sit up front and cheer me on, me and Spitfire made a bet saying that if my team lands first I get all the pie I want and she pays!" Soarin said, jumping forward with his own face a little more than an inch from Braeburn's, who in return blushed and began to stammer once more.

"H-How does c-cheering help, t-there are thousands of fans out there." He grumbled, taking a few steps back. "You won't be able to hear me out der anyways..." He turned his head, rosy cheeks tinting.

"Don't spoil the fuuun." Soarin whined before grabbing his hoof and pulling him forward against his will once more. He was still smiling. Somehow... even with his own teammates knowing he was an open coltcuddler... he still found reason to smile. Braeburn was still lost on how they didn't hate him... they didn't find it... unnatural? He felt himself be dragged through random undressed Wonderbolts and fancy looking ponies.

"You'll sit right up there, best seat in the house I swear!" Soarin said, snapping the yellow pony out of his own thoughts. A hoof was directing his vision toward a seat right dead smack in the middle of several other proper ponies. Braeburn looked down at the leg wrapped around his. He didn't blush, just let the warmth of the other through his costume sink in. He liked it... he decided on that rather quickly.

"Something wrong, eh buddy?" Soarin asked, cocking up a brow, his spiky hair blowing softly in the wind.

"'Tis just..." Braeburn said "I feel all... outta place... like I don't belong with all these here fancy schmancy ponies." He mumbled, taking off his hat "Their all... proper and all... I'm just a regular ol' earth pony, ain't nothing fancy or special 'bout me."

Soarin rolled his eyes "Lame." He teased lightly before he pointed out his hoof once more and circled it around the rest of the stadium "The rest of our fans aren't in here, or like this." He said "Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Unicorn's are our fans, high and low class, out in that stadium I bet there are a thousand ponies like you just flooding in here as we speak. Truth be told, I hate all these upper class ponies who think their better than anypony else, mostly the kind that are stupid and only living off their families riches!"

Braeburn chuckled gently, and it wasn't forced in the slightest. Soarin smirked "Gotta lighten up more, you look a lot cuter when you aren't depressed like yesterday or earlier, try and stay like that!" He encouraged, only bringing forth a lighter shade of red to the tips of Braeburn's ears. The pegasus chuckled and flapped his wings as he pulled up the hood to his costume, placing the goggles over his eyes. "Gotta split, we're starting in half an hour!"

The yellow pony opened his mouth "Ain't it hard to move 'round in that?" He asked, pointing to the costume with his muzzle.

Soarin put a hoof to his chin before smirking and dashing down, cupping his hooves over the yellow pony's ear. "Only when I got a hard on, don't cheer too hard t'night alright?" He asked, becoming overfilled with evil delight as the earth pony found himself turning bright red. The pegasus burst out laughing before patting his friend's back and flying off before the earth pony could respond.

Braeburn's mouth was still open before he manually shut it. Tonight... was going to be a long night.

[b]-[/b]

The takeoff was one of the most amazing things he had ever seen.

Braeburn was shocked, let alone astounded on just how quiet the stadium had gotten when all of the lights went off, not a peep was heard aside from his own breathing. His green eyes glistened in the moonlight before a single light had managed to click on. And before he knew it, something... two things in fact, emerged upward. Two pegasi flying side by side as at least five more on each side followed. Braeburn held his mouth open as the stadium suddenly grew booming with thunderous cheers that hurt the stallions own ears, but he didn't dare look away or try to protect his eardrums.

The two shot into the air in perfect unison and began to spin around one another. They split apart with sparks following them as the entire stadium lit up for a brief moment before they all formed together into one, causing a bright explosion to occur. Braeburn's eyes watered from the light, but he couldn't stop looking.

The cheering got louder, and something grew in Braeburn's chest. How the hell had he not heard of these... amazing pegasi until now? He had never seen anypony fly like these people did... so perfectly.

"C'mon, Soar, fly faster!" Braeburn found himself shouting, taking off his hat and letting the breeze from the pegasi almost rip it out of his hooves as they flew by. He swore he saw a smirk directed his way... but it could have been his imagination. He jumped from his own seat "Woo, ride 'em high by the horns!" He shouted.

"Ahem..."

Braeburn glanced behind him to see annoyed faces from several higher class ponies looking annoyed at him. They wanted to call him an idiot... he just knew it. He sat down quickly and squeezed his hat over his eyes, chuckling nervously as his cheeks flushed. He suddenly thanked the darkness on the fans themselves.

He lifted his hat, keeping an eye on the squad. He didn't want to miss another moment.

[b]-[/b]

"Can't believe ya did that!" Braeburn shouted "Was amazing I tell ya, nopony in Appleloosa would'a believed a pegasus could fly like you lot!" He said, trying to talk over all of the ponies in the bar. It was a specially restricted bar, no camaraponies nor reporters, just a place for V.I.P ponies and the Wonderbolts themselves.

Soarin smirked happily "Didn't think you would like it this much!" He said happily, sticking out his tongue playfully. He blushed slightly as his belly rumbled rather loudly "C'mon... I'm starving..." He grumbled, bouncing his legs impatiently as he shifted on his rump at the table they were at.

"But seriously, you're such a show off with all of those explosions!" Braeburn said. His cheeks were pink. He was likely getting a tad tipsy from the amount he was drinking. It was the first time in months he felt like he truly had fun for once, and let all of his worries about coltcuddling or anything stupid like that go. He was just having a good time, nopony was holding him down!

"So I guess you liked it, huh?" Soarin asked. "Hay, I'm still shocked you never even heard of us!"

Braeburn chuckled lightly, taking another large swig as the alcohol entered his blood stream further. He found himself drinking not for sorrow, but for joy and fun. When was the last time he had a friend to drink with in general? Even before all of these rumors he didn't have any... "I don't buckin' know." He said, distracting himself from unpleasant thoughts "I live in a backwater town in the middle a nowhere, I don't know how we know that unicorns exist way out there!" He grumbled. It was a mixture of the drink plus his true feelings speaking at the moment, no longer his shy self.

"Your... pie good sir." A unicorn suddenly said, appearing from seemingly nowhere with a pie surrounded in a teal glow as it was set down, he scurried off to the next table quickly. Soarin, not waiting a single moment, all but slamming his face into the pie, only about half landing in his belly as bits and pieces hit Braeburn. The yellow pony backed up a bit he reached a hoof forward to dab at a piece and bring it to his mouth.

"Shoot, I could'a cooked this in my here sleep, you outta try a real pie sometime 'round here!" Braeburn said, rolling his eyes.

Soarin let the pie pan drop from his mouth as he stared at the yellow pony with mouth agape "You... you can cook?" He asked.

Braeburn nodded "Shoot, dad nearly killed me when I wanted to though..." He mumbled, looking down at his hooves on the table "Ma was 'gainst teachin' me too, but I was able to brin' them 'round." he grumbled out, running a hoof down his coat on his arm. "Never were supportive about nothin' I wanted to try..." He blinked several times. He closed his eyes a moment.

Soarin blinked slowly. "Dude... you gotta cook for me!" He whined as he stumbled around the table and found himself falling right on Braeburn's chest, an apply-covered face landing on his chest as the yellow pony jumped and caught him on instinct. "Promise me?"

"S-Soar, how drunk are ya?" He asked as the pegasus nuzzled his face into the chest before slowly licking the apple covered spot, causing a blush to hit him roughly as he tried to suppress a giggle. He could tell other ponies were watching, so he chose to ignore them and simply stare straight at the pegasus.

He would have dropped him... if it were last night in the bar. He would have dropped him and walked away. But now... with his face bright red from all of the alcohol entered in his body, and the gentle nuzzling mixed with slightly ticklish licks to his chest... he couldn't bring himself to drop him... maybe he was growing a little softer. "I'll bake ya a pie tomorrow, just calm your horseshoes." Braeburn said, blushing slightly as he lightly bounced the pegasi up further and gently rubbed his feathery back with a hoof.

"Aw, man." Braeburn grumbled, realizing Soarin was wasted and he also had the train tickets back home... He glanced down at the dizzy pegasus as his eyes blinked slowly. He rested his head in his spiky mane. Five more minutes... he would set him down in only five minutes. He felt like he was doing something wrong, doing something that his parents would beat him for if he even thought about it, but the light, gentle snores coming from the pegasus told him one thing. He tried to remind himself that he liked mares and mares only, but his eyes watered under the furry lids when Soarin was able to break that train with only a single mumble of delicious apple pie. The thoughts and feelings he thought he had shook off for a while had returned, and were hurting him deep in his chest.

"I like mares gosh darn." He grumbled, looking down into the pegasi's mane. He was correct on the first night they meant... he was soft. He suddenly let his thoughts go for a single moment. He couldn't help but blush, and he had to admit it... just once.

Soarin looked cute... and right now, it seemed that was all that mattered to the yellow earth pony.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"Stop lying... It hurts..."**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Chapter 4: Twists and Tales**

A deep, throbbing pain pounded in Braeburn's skull as he found his own eyes opening, only to snap back shut as a wave of nausea flooded over him. He made a sharp movement with his hoof to keep down his dinner as he slammed it over his mouth. The yellow earth pony whimpered gently as his tummy began to toss and gargle out horrible pain. His head felt stuffy, and his eyes were blurry, and there was the horrible taste of vomit in the back of his throat... he couldn't tell if he was sick... or just badly hungover. Maybe it was both...

It took the yellow pony to take in one fact... he was lying in a bed. He didn't want to sit up, he feared he would die from pain if he did. But he still forced himself to slowly sit up in the bed, his long, soft and flowing mane tickling his neck. He closed his eyes and felt his head. His hat was gone... and so was his vest. The pounding continued as he sniffled his stuffy nose. He was almost scared to open his eyes, the light pouring in was almost like needles constantly stabbing his pupils and reaching into his brain.

He forgot how much it sucked to be hungover.

His mind hurt, but through the pain he forced himself to think about why he was in a bed... Soarin passed out, he caught him, held him until he decided it was time to find a place to rest...

Soarin.

Braeburn's eyes shot open. He suddenly realized there was something more in his ears than the rushing blood and pounding muscles. It was snoring. His own head slowly turned to its side. His eyes were only half open and one was twitching as he shot his head the rest of the way to the spot next to him. Soarin was lying with his mouth wide open, drool coming out, he was on his back, body sprawled, without his costume on, Braeburn wanted to hit himself when his eyes glanced down for even a second, but silently thanked that a blanket was covering his lower half, his wings were spread out, and covered almost all of the bed. Braeburn had to have been lying on one of those... he had to have been close to him...

Realization dawned on the yellow pony a little slowly. He had no vest or hat on, and the other was out of his costume... they were in the same bed. His mind took in the shock as his reflexes kicked in and he jumped out of the bed, head smashing against the wall before falling down and slamming on the floor, ripping the blanket off with him as he ended up in a tumble of blankets and mane. "Oh Celestia, I didn' jus' buck ya, did I?" He cried, face furiously blushing red as he slammed his hooves into the blanket.

"Huh... wha?" Soarin grumbled out, seemingly just coming around. He was a darn heavy sleeper, Braeburn could give him that.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Braeburn said as he put a hoof over his mouth and rain dizzily off toward a large can in the next room and threw his face in it, all of the previous nights dinner burning his throat as it came out. He sat there for a few minutes, head still in the can as he gasped for air, eyes stinging and throat burning. He was limp, and felt a tad dead from the waist down as the can supported all of his weight.

Needless to say, it more than shocked him when a wing slapped over his rump. He jumped out of the can and fell back with a burning face. "Morning sunshine." Soarin teased, a smirk on his face before proceeding to slam his face in the same can and making horrible noises that Braeburn only winced at. His head hurt, he missed Appleloosa... His hooves felt where the wing slapped him as his cheeks flushed red. Did he... did he become Soarin's bitch?

"Don't worry, I ain't a jerk." Soarin said, seemingly reading his thoughts as he lifted out his head, eyes watering from the pain in his stomach and throat. He smiled and wiped his eyes with his wing "I ain't the kinda stallion to buck on a first date. I like cuddling a lot more." He said with a tongue stuck out. Braeburn couldn't imagine the pain he must be in, the pegasus had ten times the drinks he had had!

"Oh, and in case you're wondering, Fleetfoot took us here, she seemed to fancy you, y'know that?" He asked. Braeburn grumbled something as his eyes looked irritated as he shakily got on all of his legs. He had to be reading his thoughts, this was just weird now. "Wait, how come ya 'member that there? Weren't ya passed out?"

"Na, just liked to cuddle you... your fur tastes like apples, know that?" Soarin asked, his green eyes not hiding a hint of shame as they sparkled in Braeburn's eyes. The yellow pony took a step back as he came forward, his eyes were puffy and sick looking, but he still was the Soarin he had met a few days ago. He chuckled "You should hit me, I deserve it." He said.

Braeburn considered this for a few moments, blinking slowly. He felt irritated, but he found himself giggling as he reached out a hoof and nudged the others neck lightly. He looked a tad surprised. "C'mon buddy, let's fix ya up, ya look like horseshit."

"Wait... you just called me buddy." Soarin said, stumbling forward.

"No I didn'" Braeburn snapped out, glaring at the other.

"Yes, you di-" Soarin paused "Know what, my head hurts too much to care..." the pegasus whimpered gently as he tried to extend his wings "Darn things always freeze up after a show." He mumbled "Guess we can't take the fun way back to your town."

Braeburn paused as he blinked slowly. Realization struck him he was missing a full day of work at the moment. "I'm gonna go broke." He whimpered gently.

Soarin rolled his eyes, but whimpered as his head pounded "Know what, I'm just going to go and get a drink of water." He started to walk, but found himself tripping, but was caught by a pair of front legs that grumbled gently.

"I'll get it, you just go back to bed."

Soarin looked pathetic as he was all but drug back into the hotel room's bed. He felt himself be hoisted up by the rather strong earth pony. He looked into the emerald eyes. "You don't seem as cynical as the first time I met you." He mumbled. Braeburn found himself jumping as his cheeks blushed. He shook his head several times, as if shaking off a thought that he found horrible. Soarin smirked "Guess you don't feel so locked down outta that town, huh?" He was only half joking.

"Guess so..." Braeburn mumbled. He blinked his eyes, shocking Soarin by the straight forward answer. He looked away "H-Hey, ya look exhausted, try and sleep, 'right?"

Soarin smirked and put both hooves behind his bed "Whats wrong, can't take my teasing?" He asked, a snappy playfulness in his voice. Braeburn rolled his eyes and shoved the blanket up past the others head.

"Can't wait till these darn two weeks are over 'matter er fact!" He growled, only half joking.

"Nice flying out there Rapidfire, but I think you should try and increase your wing power by about three before the next show, and Fleetfoot, you need to slow down and keep up with the rest of us." Spitfire said, pointing her hoof out to two of the pegasi, who nodded in return.

"Something wrong, Brae?" The voice broke Braeburn's thoughts. The yellow pony was so intent on staring at the floor that he was too scared to look up, in fear it might vanish from underneath him. He gulped loudly, sweat coming from his forehead and getting stuck in his coat. He chewed on his lip before taking a glance over at the other. Soarin looked at him, he seemed... bored...

Braeburn bit his lip and looked down again. He didn't say anything. His cheeks remained a shade of red as he squirmed a bit, unsure of himself at the current moment. He was both nervous and shy. He was never one to interact with other ponies head on, unless they talked to him first. Crowds simply made him nervous, he liked to blame it all on these past three months of ridicule...

"Hey, nopony cares 'bout these stupid meetings, Spitfire just likes to sound official." He chuckled. Braeburn still hadn't comprehended how he had gotten over his hangover in a single nap while his own head still pounded, nor did he find the energy to give two bucks. "Besides, I'm vice captain, I'm usually acting official up there with her."

"Y-You, official?" Braeburn asked "T-That there's a joke if I ever 'eard one." He dared to glance up at the table. Nopony was watching them, but he still felt like everypony was judging him for just how abnormally close the older was sitting next to him, almost rubbing his wings on his sides. The room they were in had no windows, and it made him feel like the walls were closing in on him.

"There's the Brae I know!" Soarin said, a little too loudly for Braeburn's comfort, as it caused an eye or two to be drawn to him. Soarin must have sensed his uneasiness, for he forced himself to calm down, the talking and drilling of the squad continuing. Braeburn kept his hat down past his eyes. He didn't like being the center of attention, he truly didn't. Even thinking about it made him tremble like crazy. "C'mon, cheer up, we'll be outta here soon, promise. Though you can leave on your own... just good luck getting tickets without my money." The pegasi teased.

"I just... I just don't like all of these ponies staring at me..." Braeburn mumbled. He ran his hoof down his yellow coated arm. He blinked several times. Soarin stopped giggling, which was rare, and looked at the earth pony "It makes me think of..."

"Yeeees?" Soarin asked, his eyes breaking through his defenses.

"...Back in Appleloosa... all anypony ever does these here days... is look at me like I'm a crook." Braeburn mumbled. Why was he telling this to a pegasi who was pretty much a stranger anyways? He still didn't understand it, why Soarin was able to break him down with ease. He was so strong. "And last night... everypony thought I was some kinda backwash scoundrel."

"Don't get many of those ponies back home in Cloudsdale, where I grew up." Soarin mumbled "Most ponies were friendly to everpony else unless they really were crooks and scoundrels." Talking to the earth pony seemed to sooth his nerves "But I guess Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorn ponies really are all different, in more than the obvious. Think I learned that the hard way on our first tour, everpony was just so different from what I was used too."

Braeburn nodded, he wondered what it must be like, to be such an openly famous coltcuddler. He looked up at the pegasi who was bigger than him. He blinked several times, his shy eyes darting as the others didn't even blink they were so focused on him. He was strong... stronger than himself.

"Pegasi don't care about that kind of coltcuddling or fillyfooling crap, they only care about important things." He said "None of my friends are gonna glare at you."

"I'm not a coltcuddler..." He grumbled out.

"Sure, I know." Soarin said, totally unconvinced. He rolled his eyes and spread out a soar wing and placed it over the earth pony's back. Braeburn jumped and squirmed slightly, he opened his mouth to scream, say something, ANYTHING! "Anypony here looks at you a way you don't like, I'll skin em." Soarin grumbled out.

Braeburn felt his cheeks flush. Why was Soarin so... cool? And why did he feel so safe... like nothing or nopony could hurt him. "Just look at me if you get scared, alright?" Braeburn pondered this for several moments. He was... very friendly toward him.

"A-Alright..." He mumbled.

The rest of the meeting seemed to go by too fast, all the yellow pony did was stare at the pegasus and never once thought of looking away, even for a second.

Night seemed to come too fast for a change, all of the judgmental glares didn't happen for once. The empty train cart clicked and clacked along the railroad as Braeburn sat in it alone in solitude. The hills that rolled by didn't intrigue him anymore, in fact, they bored him with ease. He sort of hated himself even more for it, but he would rather be talking to Soarin than sitting here alone. He glanced up, his eyes drifting to the sight of light blue wings in the tiny window at the back of the train. It was mesmerizing, to see those pale blue feathers blow one by one.

He watched out of the corner of his eye for the better part of five minutes before staring dead on for the next ten. After twenty, he finally decided he had tortured himself enough and walked up and out of the cat onto the back of the train, onto the balcony.

"Took you long enough." Soarin teased. Braeburn felt his cheeks flush and became grateful for the darkness as he blinked several times and looked away. "Sure is a pretty sky, out here in the country I mean." Soarin said, glancing up at the sky. He smiled warmly, and sincerely "What I wouldn't give to just do a show out here without all those flashy lights and stuff, y'know, dude?" He asked. "Just something for me, not anypony else."

"That would be nice." Braeburn said. He looked down "I don't... I don't think I ever really took time to look at them that often." He mumbled, his emerald eyes reflecting the nighttime sky. He briefly wondered what the stars were controlled by. Luna, or Celestia? Or was it simply a force without magic? He realized he was thinking way too deep into this, and should simply enjoy them.

A sudden gust of wind came and hit him. Braeburn shivered and put a hoof over his head to keep his hat on. "I'm thinkin' I might head back inside." He mumbled.

"Cold?" Soarin asked. The pegasus proceeded to spread out his wings and usher for the earth pony to come. Braeburn blushed and opened his mouth to protest, but a wing seemingly forced its way over his back, to which he squirmed at slightly. Everything in his mind was screaming at him to run, run as fast as he could.

"I... I should go back inside..." He squeaked out. Soarin chuckled and used his other wing to tickle under the yellow pony's chin, causing both forced giggling and confused feelings to burst from the other. "N-Nohoho, really." He stammered, his lips quivering at the feathers teasing his neck and chin.

"Oh shut up and lay down, you're cold and I am too..." He grumbled. Though based on his feathers, he seemed VERY warm to the earth pony who was suddenly all but thrown on the ground. He was caught only by a pair of hooves as he was brought to a warm chest. His heart raced. "See, comfy?" Soarin mumbled.

All Braeburn could do was gently whimper and squirm in protest. "What's got you all antsy?" Soarin asked.

"I... I jus'..." His mind hurt, and so did his heart. He was scared, scared beyond any reasonable amount of the warm arms cuddling him closely. Protectively. "C-Colt's shouldn't cuddle... or b-be cuddled, t-they shoul' only cuddle the m-m-mares they love..."

"Do you believe that?" Soarin asked. "Or do you want to believe it?"

Braeburn sniffled loudly. The fear from the pit of his belly started growing. Soarin gently rubbed his back "Shhh, calm down buddy, everything's alright." The yellow pony seized up as something wrapped around his bushy tail and tugged playfully and carefully. Soarin's own tail twisted around his. "Why is it so wrong for a colt to be cuddled if he likes it?" He asked, reaching out a free hoof and lifting the others hat to reveal his teary eyes as they sat alone together on that balcony, the wind bouncing off of the wing, away from the earth pony. "I'm serious, why is it wrong, why do YOU think it is?"

"I-It just... if they did..." His eyes teared up. He regretted coming out here. "My dad told me after I was 'round five or six... can't remember when... but I 'member him telling me colts shouldn't be cuddled... That I shouldn't cuddle anypony but a mare."

Everything was silent for a few minutes "When I was little... I remember just playin' with one of my friends." Braeburn didn't know where this story was coming from, it just started to come up from his heart "I don't even 'member his name... I didn't see him aft'a that day..."

"Why?" Soarin asked, the goofy tone was nowhere to be found.

"Well... his father and my father were talkin'... I think it was 'bout a pair of coltcuddlers or fillyfoolers or something like that movin' in the town we lived in at that point. They sounded like they were angry, and disgusted... I remember them grumblin' about it for a long time, long enough to keep my interest at that young age anyway." Braeburn mumbled, looking down at his hooves "I... I think I asked him somethin' like... "Why do you two care so much 'bout two fillies or colts livin' 'gether'"

"Go on..." Soarin grumbled, shaking him a little when he paused.

"I should get back in der." Braeburn mumbled.

"Go on." Soarin ordered, giving Braeburn a deathly glare that caused the colts fur to stand on end. The twisted tail around him tugged gently, reassuring him Soarin was not angry.

"They looked at me like I just 'aid I have lobsters growin' outta my ears." He mumbled, his eyes welling in tears. "'N my daddy said to me 'Son, don't you see anything wrong with them?' And I said 'No, why?'" Things went silent as Braeburn's body physically shook. "He told me that two colts didn't belong together, and I looked at 'im like he was the crazy one, not me!" Braeburn's eyes welled further. "He told me again that they couldn't when I didn't say nothin'"

"Then?" Soarin asked. He seemed just as anxious to know as Braeburn was as anxious to shut up.

"I told him that was horseapples, two colts or two fillies should marry if 'ey wanted... I told him that... that I wanted to marry another colt..." Braeburn was silent, for a long time. He kept his hat down past his eyes, Soarin didn't dare push him. "I didn't mean it..."

"I know."

"It was an accident, I swear."

"I know." Soarin reassured "Go on..."

Braeburn took a deep, shaky breath "He... he didn't think more than a second... and then I remember his hitting me over the head as hard as he could. The other colt's father looked disgusted and took his son away... I wasn't allowed to play with him after that..." Braeburn fiddled with his hooves, a tear ran down his cheek that he couldn't control. "D-Daddy got really angry, and I got scared... there was... there was a lot of blood..." He was shaking now. "Mommy got real scared, and there was a lot of yelling... I just curled up in my room, my body hurt... a lot..." He bit his lip. He didn't seem to realize he was calling his parents 'mommy' and 'daddy'.

"Didn't anypony else see the bruises or nothin'?" Soarin asked.

Braeburn shook his head "N-No..." He whimpered "My s-school teacher asked what they were from, and when I told 'er, she looked at me like some kind of freak and refused to believe me..." His eyes began to flow. "I r-remember 'aving a lot of nightmares, and mommy stopped coming to cuddle me when I was scared, and daddy stopped going easy on me when I screwed up..."

"Brae... you can stop..." Soarin mumbled, running a hoof down the others cheek, cuddling him tighter.

Braeburn buried his head in his upper legs, his chest began to heave as he made muffled sobs into his hooves. "N-Nopony t-treated m-m-me the same, I-I f-f-felt like a f-f-freak!" He wailed out, now openly sobbing "I-I-I j-just wanted s-somepony ta tell me what I did wrong! E-Everypony t-treated me like an adult so suddenly, a-and all my friends left me because I acted so weird, I-I just wanted m-my ma ta hug me like she used to, and m-my dad ain't never seen me the same since!" He cried "I a-ain't never regretted a slip of the tongue since!"

Braeburn lowered his head and openly began to sob "I'm a good pony... I'm a good pony... I'm sorry!"

"Brae, it's alright, please don't cry, I'll cuddle you, I'm right here." Soarin said, nuzzling the seemingly tiny pony's neck lightly and tightening his grip around his waist, the wing gently petting his body in long and gentle strokes. He lifted his hat and wiped a hoof under his eye. He nuzzled his cheek "I'll cuddle you whenever you want, please stop crying... you don't look as cute..."

"No!" Braeburn cried out, the words crushing his heart. He began breaking away, cursing himself for letting himself believe for half a second that was true "I-It was 'cause of ponies like ya that It's like this." He broke away, the harsh winds hitting him, stinging the tear trails under his eyes. Part of him missed the gentle hooves cuddling him. He was terrified, terrified of letting the other seep any deeper into his mind. "I hate ya!" He cried out, turning to try and kick open the door only to see a hoof slam in front of him on the metal.

"You don't hate me." Soarin stated.

"I... I do." Braeburn wasn't sure of himself.

"No, you don't" The pegasus stated "You like me because you think I'm attractive, you like me because I'm willing to be there for you when everypony else hates you, you like me because I'm starting to make you see you don't have to be scared of falling in love. And you like me because I'm stronger than you, and you envy me, you wish you could be more like me and be able to tell right from wrong with ease. And right then you wanted nothing more than to cry in my arms and have a happy ending, didn't you?" He growled, his eyes... they were so... Braeburn whimpered away, tears in his eyes as he tried to back up. "Am I right or not?"

"I... I..."

Soarin had pinned the other against the metal of the railing. His eyes locked with his. They were screaming at him things that his mind told him were false and his heart told him were true, his emotions began to overflow. He had never seen this side of Soarin before. It was scary, it frightened him with the battle that began to rage inside of him.

Before he could open his mouth, Soarin grabbed his head and yanked his lips to his, smashing them against each other.

Braeburn screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"Why couldn't we just stay friends?"**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Chapter 5: That Tingly Feeling**

"What are ya doin'?" Braeburn found himself screeching as bolts of fear rippled through his body. His high pitched scream was in no way manly nor colt-like, and it didn't help his current mood in the slightest. He pushed back the pegasi's head with his hooves as tears flowed from his eyes in great numbers. He felt cornered... trapped. His eyes scanned for an escape route, yet found none. His own breathing began to quicken at great speed.

"Just shut up..." Soarin growled before he forcibly planted yet another kiss on the other's lips, this time his own tongue forcing its way into his mouth. Braeburn found himself moaning in horrible delight that he couldn't control, the tongue wrapping around his, tasting his mouth as it licked the inside. Braeburn's legs felt shaky, and his heart pounded. He finally snapped into his own senses.

"Stop it!" He shouted as he yet again forced the others mouth away from his, a thin trail of saliva connecting them together before it snapped, Braeburn found his chest heaving in sobs "What are ya doin'?" He cried yet again, his voice on the verge of sobbing yet again "Ya damn coltcuddler, what do ya think ya doin'?" He had nothing else to say, the shock of it all gripped his emotions in tight claws as the wound in his heart began to bleed out and flood his entire body. His chest hurt... it hurt so damn much…

"You liked it, didn't you?" Soarin asked, his tone serious, his eyes sincere. They were like daggers, glaring straight through Braeburn, piercing his heart.

"No I d-didn't, ya idiot!" Braeburn cried, still pinned against the railing, both on their hind legs, Braeburn by force. He was breathing hard; his mouth still had the taste of Soarin's tongue in it, he was afraid to swallow.

Soarin glared at him, eyes narrowing as they shot through him, seeing the simple truth. Braeburn could feel the tears escape his eyes as the river began to flow. "Don't look at me like that..." He said. He meant it to sound assertive, but it came out as pure begging. The eyes reminded him too much of the ponies in Appleloosa. "Please..." He begged, his voice not much more than a squeak of pity at this point. "Stop it..."

"You moaned..." Soarin stated. Braeburn felt like he had just been stabbed in the chest, his hooves began to tremble as his lower jaw quivered. "You loved it; I could hear that your heart did." The pegasus said, reaching a hoof down circling it around the chest of the other.

"What... what kind of horseapplin' crap is that?" Braeburn cried out, wailing at this point, a river inside him had a hurricane going on at the current moment "A-Anypony would... do that... if they were kissed by somepony they li" He stopped dead, realizing what he was about to say.

"They li?" Soarin asked, his glare faded, and his hoof stroked the others cheek gently, but Braeburn was still trembling in fear "They... like?" He guessed out loud. It was an innocent little guess, but Braeburn let out a half sob as the words escaped Soarin's mouth. "You like the way you feel when you're with me, you like the taste just a minute ago?" He mumbled, leaning forward as his teeth scraped against the other's ears.

"I didn't mean that..." Braeburn whimpered, trembling as his ears were played with by a playful tongue.

"Yes you did." Soarin said, warm breath in Braeburn's ears. "It's alright Buddy, I'm here, you don't have to be scared of good 'ol Soar, now do you?" He asked. He leaned in, lightly kissing the others neck. Braeburn winced, and held his breath as emotions piled on emotions. Teeth scraped on his neck, and a gentle moan escaped.

The train slowed down, and Braeburn felt himself jerk as it stopped. Tears welled in his eyes, his neck being kissed and nibbled on. He hated it... he hated the fluttery feeling in his belly, he hated the way he began to feel dizzy, and he hated the moaning coming from his throat... he hated himself.

"I'm not a damn coltcuddler!" Braeburn cried, using all of his strength to throw the other off of him. Soarin might be light on his hooves and speedy, but earth ponies were several times stronger than Unicorns or Pegasi. He heard Soarin grunt in pain as his head slammed against the metal floor. Braeburn didn't take a second to think and kicked the door to the cart open and began to gallop out of the train.

He didn't think he had ever run faster in his life. Part of him craved that Soarin would follow him, but he still kept running. The faster he ran, the more his thoughts and feelings began to lie on. It was nighttime, and he could barely see which way he was going, but he didn't slow down until he reached his home.

When the earth pony slammed his door to the apartment, only then did he let his sentiments take over.

He began to weep.

Braeburn had never cried so hard in his life, everything hurt, and everything inside of him bled. He tried to bite his lip, but it began to flow a thin trail of red. He was gasping for air from the running and sobbing. Images flew through his mind of several things. His father hitting him, all of the pain and blood. The 'whipping into shape' that he had endured for weeks upon weeks.

The yellow stallion curled up on the floor, and let himself quietly cry his heart out. "I'm a-a-a g-g-good pony..." He whimpered "I-I-I a-a-ain't no Coltcuddler..." His tiny heart began to slowly crack. "I'll b-be good... d-d-daddy... I won't cuddle n-no colts..." The reciting of lines his father forced him to say wasn't helping, it only made things worse.

The only thing he wanted right now was for Soarin to fly through the window, and cuddle him until he stopped crying. He wanted to be held next to a chest that cared for him and be told that he wasn't worthless and that he was loved.

No pegasus appeared... and Braeburn cried himself to sleep, alone on the cold and unloving floorboards.

_Braeburn found himself shifting awkwardly in place. The yelling was causing his ears to hurt; he was unable to look forward into the two sets of eyes staring at his disapprovingly. He felt awkward, on tension, as if he were skating on a lake of thin ice._

_"That's the tenth one this month, Braeburn." The stern, disproving voice flooded his ears. "You need to get your ass in gear and find somepony to settle down with!"_

_Braeburn started to count backward from 100; it helped to calm him down at times like this, at times when yelling was the only thing filling the house. He glanced at his father, the brown coat and bright, fiery eyes stared down at him from across the room. "Pa, all of those mares... act like favorite colors and matching names are things to build a relationship on." He mumbled. It wasn't the first time he had had this talk, in fact it had happened so much that the yellow pony had lost count._

_"Honey, we just don't want you to end up as an old stallion without a wife." This time Braeburn turned to his mother and her orange coat. He blinked several times, but didn't respond to the comment. She was nice, but being nice was sometimes more annoying than Braeburn thought he should find it._

_His parents had taken it into their hooves to pick any of his dates and set him up with them. He wanted to find somepony he himself fell in love with... not this forced relationship thing his folks were trying to make him do._

_"Son, that's where relationships start, converse with them, act like you care." His father said, his voice growling in slight anger "For the sake of Celestia, you can't expect to live under our roof forever can you."_

_Braeburn found himself wincing. He had in fact been looking into a way to save up enough money to support himself for the past year, and was expecting to move out within the next. If he told his father this however, he somehow knew it would fall upon deaf ears. He kept his mouth shut, and shrugged slightly, only to receive a glare of disapproval._

_"I just don't know what we're going to do with you." His mother said._

_"We can try and find another mare, but he's gone through half of the ones in Appleloosa alone by himself!" His father growled out, glaring at his son. Braeburn shifted uncomfortably one again. He wanted to be left alone, he wanted to go to sleep in his bed and deal with all of this the next morning._

_"Pa… Ma…" He mumbled._

_"I can't see why he can't connect with any of them."_

_"Neither do I… maybe we should start introducing him to pegasi or Unicorns…"_

_Braeburn listened to their conversation that didn't involve him in the slightest with tension in his shoulders. He bit his lip as it kept going back and forth, back and forth. He couldn't get a single word in, and his chest was building with emotion of anger and sorrow._

_"I like colts!" He shouted._

_The next thing Braeburn felt, was a hoof slamming down on his head._  
-

"Has a blue pegasi been 'round here?" He felt the words escape his mouth as he entered the Salt Block. It seemed like a perfect place for Soarin to come, or at least in Braeburn's head it did, it was where they first met after all. He still wasn't sure why he was looking for the pegasi either...

The owner glared at him, and so did several other stallions and mares. He brought a hoof up to his neck to cover up the bruise Soarin had given him. He was nervous, he knew that the rumors had spread fast around this tiny little down, and a wildfire called gossip had found its source at him. Rumors of him leaving town with a strange pegasi, how they had been gone overnight together. Everypony seemed to put two and two together and somehow their disgusted minds had come out with the worst.

"We don't take your kind here..." The owner said, eyes narrowing as he looked disgusted at the earth pony. The murmurs of agreement rose from several of the customers. Braeburn felt himself wincing. It was him against the world now. It was his own fault... he should have never let Soarin's lies dig their way into his mind.

Braeburn took in a deep breath "Please, just tell me if he..."

Something smashed in front of him; Braeburn found himself jumping as the glass shattered. He couldn't see who threw it, nor did the owner make a single movement to throw him out. "Get out of here ya damn coltcuddler!" The owner didn't seem to care that one of his glasses was now broken, in fact he gave a nod of approval toward the crowd where it came from.

The yellow pony did everything he could to contain his trembling. "Yeah, leave ya freak!" Another voice came. He bit his lip as the insults piled on top of one another.

"Coltcuddler!"

"We'll show him how things should be 'round here..."

"Get the buck out!"

"Where's yer coltfriend, coltcuddler!"

"But has he been..." He trailed off. Braeburn wasn't stupid, nor did he have any intention of becoming an idiot tonight. He knew when he wasn't welcomed, and he also knew when it was smart to leave. He lowered his heads and heard the insults pile on. He was stupid to come to such a crowded place to ask. He gnawed on his lip for a few seconds before turning and beginning to walk out.

Something slammed into his hind, he began to tumble and fell right down the steps, his face slamming down onto the earth. His mouth filled with dirt and dust which he proceeded to spit out at once. Cheering hit his ears; it came straight from the bar he had just exited. He trembled slightly, but still got to his legs and lowered his hat past his eyes, just as a tiny river began to flow down his cheeks.

He silently walked forward. And didn't make a single sound.

He hardly even breathed; afraid the horrible choking sounds would escape his throat.

Braeburn kicked the tree as hard as his hooves would let him. He could feel the weight on his back increase as apples fell into the basket with ease. He blinked several times and glanced up, seeing a bright red apple still in the tree . A growl escaped his throat as he kicked at the tree once more. It didn't fall...

Braeburn breathed in deeply and kicked the tree again, and again. His hooves slammed into it time after time. He thought of how Soarin could easily just fly up to retrieve the fruit. It only caused him to kick harder. By the time he had finally satisfied himself, he glanced behind him to see deep hoof marks in the bark. He was silent for a few moments.

Something fell and land and slammed onto the scalp of his head. He was silent for several minutes before biting his lip and lifted up his back hooves and smashed them into the trunk once again. He heard a loud slam and the ground under his hooves vibrated.

He silently lowered his head, and began to drag the basket full of apples away from the fallen tree.

Braeburn looked toward the sky. The clouds were bothering him, they thickened in the darkness, and a bellowing of thunder erupted over the twilight sky. It mirrored the earth pony's mood for the past week quite well. He felt sympathy with the sky. Maybe one of the princesses was upset, and was currently ordering Cloudsdale to ship out random storms in dozens. The thought in itself was highly unlikely, but Braeburn still liked to think it was true.

The first drop of rain sprinkled onto his nose. He blinked, just exiting the acres of trees for the day. It had been a long day, a long week in fact. He had been auto-piloting numbly, eating, sleeping, and working without thought. He had also tried to avoid the bar after the incident, knowing he might get hurt and that he might also drink himself to death in depression if he wasn't careful.

[i]"I'm right here, don't cry, you don't look as cute."[/i]

Braeburn sighed as he began to trot back to the town, Soarin's words echoing in his mind. "Yeah right, and earth ponies can fly..." He grumbled.

Another drop of rain hit his head. Braeburn swore under his breath as he began to pick up his speed as trotting became galloping. He realized his apartment was way on the other side of town, and he would become soaked either way. He exhaled out loud, grumbling and swearing under his breath. He had become much angrier in his few days away from Soarin; however he knew that it was only to hide his tender feelings at the moment hidden under the crust.

Just as he had predicted, the rain picked up, and fast. It soon began to pour on his yellow coat as his mane and tail stuck to his body. He shivered as he became colder. He was going to catch a cold if he stayed out for much longer. He galloped harder, kicking up large puddles of water with every step.

"Jus' where do ya' think ya' goin' coltcuddler?" Those words forced Braeburn to stop dead in his path. Not again... he wasn't sure how well he could hold up right now. Still, the yellow pony turned around, seeing a colt much larger than him in a bright red body look at him. His mane was black, his eyes green. He had on a large cowpony hat.

"Home." Braeburn stated "In case ya' didn't notice, it's rainin'"

"Oh look, a coltcuddler, and a smartass." Another voice came, Braeburn whipped around to see two more colts around his size, both brown "Maybe we should teach him a lesson or two about respecting us... whip him into shape."

"We need to whip that boy into shape... the good ol' fashion way." The words of his father hit his head, and he began to tremble in fear.

Braeburn quickly tried to gallop to the side, he didn't bother calling for help. He knew that the moment anypony realized it was him, they would cheer. The rain beat on his body the moment a head slammed into his side, almost taking him off of his hooves "Ho, Nelly, we got a feisty one here boys." The larger colt said.

The yellow pony held his side with one of his hooves. When he brought it back, there was blood on it. It wasn't much, but it was still there. The rain caused it to sting; the bruise that would appear would cover his entire flank tomorrow.

Teeth sank into his tail. Braeburn yelped out in pain as it was yanked on, he turned to try and smack the holder of it, however a hoof met his face first as he stumped back, losing a clump of his tail. He sniffled up blood. It wasn't a fair fight, his only hope of making it was to run, run as fast as he could.

"Where's your boyfriend coltcuddler, out buyin' your wedding dress?" One of them teased. Braeburn stopped listening; his head glanced from right to left. He hated this rain; he couldn't see a bucking thing in it! He licked his lips, tasting iron from where the stallion had hit him.

If Soarin were here... what would he do?

"Hey cutie, get ya ass over here and show me what ya got!" Braeburn shouted. The words felt strange on his tongue. He somehow felt like Soarin would tease the enemy to provoke him. Whatever sense this made in helping him run away, he still didn't figure that part out yet. If Soarin was really smart, he would just fly away...

"Why you..." The larger colt said, charging forward before Braeburn did a one-eighty and slammed his hooves into the others face with all of his might. He could hear loud swearing, but he didn't stick around to hear the rest. He began to charge with all of his might. He could heart hooves behind him, and close.

"Keep running, don't stop, keep running, and don't stop!" He chanted quietly to himself, gasping in air as the fear began to take root in his belly. The splashing of puddles slowly got closer. They were gaining on him.

Braeburn began to see it, his apartment, in the distance. He leaned his head down and began to charge. He was so close, he was right there!

Something smashed into him that took him straight off of his hooves. He felt his body slide straight into a puddle. His head was held down by a pair of hooves. As he tried to gasp for air, he coughed up mouthfuls of water. He attempted to move, but another set of hooves held him down, and he found himself trapped.

"Piece of horseshit." An angry voice growled before slamming a hoof down onto Braeburn's hind leg. The yellow pony bit back a whimper of pain as he began to struggle even more. He was scared; he was scared he had just ended his life by kicking that colt. Rain poured onto his body, causing him to tremble with both fear and simply freezing.

He missed Soarin's welcoming wings.

A hoof slammed into his belly, knocking the air out of him. He tried to gasp, but was greeted with a mouthful of water when the rough hoof hit again. His eyes welled in tears of pain.

He wanted Soarin to tease him, and somehow find a way to make it up in the same sentence.

Braeburn coughed up blood this time. The hoof slammed down onto his rib cage, to which he winced and trembled at. Pain kept erupting, again and again. He wasn't able to get in a single gasp of air, he had never felt so helpless in his entire life.

He wanted Soarin to make him feel safe.

"Please..." He begged. His jaw wobbled as tears flowed from his eyes, mixing in with the rain. He let out a sob that he wasn't able to muffle. "Please just stop!" He wailed, now openly crying.

"Hey look, the kids beggin'" One of the colts holding him chuckled "I think he's cryin' too, damn coltcuddler is sensitive as buck!" Braeburn found himself letting out another sob.

Something slammed on his head, as Braeburn felt his hat come off. His vest ripped the more he struggled. A hoof slammed right over his eye, and this time Braeburn couldn't hold back his scream of pain. He sobbed more, and wished the three would leave him alone.

The weight on top of his body lightened all at once, and Braeburn could feel the ground vibrate underneath his trembling and hurt body. He bit his lip down hard; keeping his eyes squeezed shut as he gently cried.

It took him a moment to realize something. The rain had stopped... no... That wasn't right, he could still hear it, and the thunder in the background was obvious! But the rain had stopped pouring on him. He dared to lift his head slightly to catch a glimpse of light blue feathers above him. Front legs suddenly wrapped around him, and lifted his body out of the water, forcing him to sit up as lips smashed onto his forehead. "I leave for a week and come back to this?" Soarin said. He sounded like he was joking, but his voice was on the verge of tears.

"Soarin..." Braeburn whimpered, his eyes far too blurry to see the figure holding him clearly. He had to feel the others chest and poke around to make sure it was him.

"S-Stohohop it, that tickles." Soarin chuckled as Braeburn's hooves felt the others belly. The earth pony was in shock. He threw his arms around the other, sobbing in pain and joy at once. Soarin was so warm... Braeburn felt safe, Braeburn felt warm, Braeburn felt loved.

The rain went silent, and there was nopony else in Equestria other than him and Soarin.

The earth pony began to openly sob, not caring if all of Equestria was watching him. He sniffled, words tripped over words and any time he attempted to speak it came out as more crying. Warm wings wrapped around him like a blanket, and something was pressed onto his head. His cowpony hat. Hooves rubbed his back through the wings and comforting words were whispered in his ears.

"Why you piece of..." The voice came from several feet away.

"Say Brae... can you give me thirty seconds?" Soarin asked. His voice seemed normal at first sound, but the closer Braeburn listened, the more and more he could sense the deep, pure anger boiling deep inside, a volcano ready to erupt. Braeburn glanced up, tightening his grip as he whimpered.

"B-But I..." Braeburn whimpered. He wanted to feel the warmth... for a tiny bit longer.

"Only thirty seconds... I'm not leaving." Soarin said, petting the others soaking wet mane several times before leaning down and kissing the others cheek. Braeburn didn't even wince. The sound of hooves drew closer. Braeburn nodded slowly.

"You buckin' coltcuddlers..."

Braeburn was set down gently, a kiss was planted between his eyes. A muzzle nuzzled against his, and he smiled, very weakly. Soarin's warmth left him, but he somehow knew it wouldn't be long before it returned.

He closed his eyes, and began to count to thirty.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"Just give me a taste tonight."**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Chapter 6: Acceptance**

A whimper escaped the throat of the yellow earth pony as his hind leg was lightly wrapped in a roll of bandages. He quickly blocked off the horrible sounds by smashing his hooves to his mouth, afraid to let out a squeak. He wanted to seem like he hadn't been broken back there in the rain, but he somehow knew his friend didn't have enough heart to make fun of him for crying so much.

He looked down at the pair of hooves fixing him up, and then let his eyes slowly trail up to the face of the other. Soarin had a long gash on his cheek that trailed down to his neck. It was still red with blood and looked like it seriously hurt, but the pegasus was focused on Braeburn. His eyes didn't come up to meet the earth pony's, they focused on their work intently.

Braeburn's apartment wasn't exactly glamorous, nor was it meant for two colts... the earth pony was almost afraid when he was carried in by Soarin what the landpony would think, but luckily it seemed she had gone to bed early. The place only had one room, and Braeburn hardly spent any time in it other than sleeping.

Braeburn shifted, the bandages around his waist making it difficult for him to breathe. They were already red, and would need to be replaced soon so the wounds wouldn't become infected. He shifted uncomfortably as Soarin's hoof rubbed his hidden cutie mark in circles. The feeling was gentle, and caring, but Braeburn still couldn't feel like it was right...

"Was it right... to just leave em' in the street?" Braeburn mumbled. He moved his upper leg over the other, trying to comfort himself slightly. His eyes seemed sad, defeated in some ways.

Soarin glanced up for the first time to look into Braeburn's eyes "You gotta stop being so kind, y'know that Brae?" He asked, forcing out a chuckle. He reached up and rubbed the others bare side with his hoof. "Ponies like that... just be glad I didn't do worse to them, alright?"

Braeburn nodded silently. He glanced to the floor at the tattered and soaking wet vest. He felt naked without it, and feeling naked in front of Soarin still sent of signals of alarm in his mind. He tried to fight them off, but they simply kept attacking his mind, which was already as torn and tattered as the vest on the floor from the previous week. He started trembling as his mind recalled the experiences, it scared him beyond anything he had ever felt.

"Brae, calm down, its over." Soarin said, somehow knowing just how much Braeburn had been shaken up this night. The yellow pony glanced down at Soarin with teary eyes, blinking them several times to rid them of the tears.

Braeburn's mouth remained dry as he attempted to find the correct choice of words for the moment. He wasn't exactly sure what to feel at the moment, he lowered his head as Soarin began to walk away. Braeburn glanced at him, wincing at the sharp movement in his neck that caused a rippling pain to shoot to his head. He couldn't help but glance at the bruises on the others body.

Three on one wasn't a fair fight... but the colts he took on were more stupid than not, and Soarin simply took them out in the promised time, thirty seconds, with a few flaps of his wings and a kick or two.

Soarin returned "You must be cold as buck." He grumbled, putting a towel on the others head and lightly rubbing his mane. Braeburn found himself wincing as the towel brushed over his swollen eye and bleeding forehead. Soarin's hooves ran the warm towel up and down his freezing body. Braeburn shifted in slight pleasure.

"Soarin?" The earth pony mumbled just as the towel came back to his damp mane. He dared to look innocently enough into the others eyes, which held a simple and soft glow that welcomed Braeburn to become lost in them.

"Yeah buddy, what's up?" Soarin asked, pausing his drying for a few moments.

Braeburn glanced down, trying to find the words that he desperately wanted to express. He wanted Soarin to know he cared, even though he was scared. His eyes watered, and Soarin opened his mouth to say something before the other beat him to the punch. "B-Brae, it's alright, please d-don't cry, I'll cuddle you, I'm r-right here." He echoed Soarin's words, his eyes watering and ready to overflow.

Soarin paused. He looked down as if feeling a strike of guilt "Yeah... yeah buddy, I'm right here." He mumbled. He glanced up before getting on his hind legs to meet the others eyes. A body was leaning on Braeburn, he felt slight pain but didn't dare to make any movement. Soarin chuckled gently "I'll cuddle you whenever you want, please stop crying... you don't look as cute..." He said, echoing the rest of his words before wrapping his hooves around the others head and bringing his head in, lips colliding with his own.

Every alarm in Braeburn's head went off at once as muzzle connected with muzzle. Things were being screamed at him to run, push the other off of him, do anything in his power to stop this! He forced the thoughts to the back of his mind, telling them to simply shut up.

His entire body tensed and relaxed at once, a warm feeling flushed over his freezing body as Soarin's hooves stroked his mane gently. He was so focused on this that the thing to snap him back to reality was something brushing against his lips. He somehow knew what to do and opened his own mouth, letting the others tongue slide in and wrestle with his own. Braeburn let himself moan between his gasp for air. Nothing mattered to him at this moment, the alarms slowly died as he wrapped his upper legs around the others body, trying to feel every inch of him. He slowly fell backward, taking Soarin with him as he lay on his back. Finally he was forced to break away to gasp for air, a thin trail of saliva connecting them before Soarin started to kiss his cheeks and forehead. Braeburn breathed in Soarin's scent deeply, simply enjoying the moment.

He was on cloud nine. There was no other way to describe it.

"You sure you're ready for this, Braeburn?" Soarin asked, his hooves gently stroking the yellow pony's bare sides. His wings were wrapped up and holding the yellow pony above him. He couldn't help but notice the others darting, nervous eyes. Nor could he ignore the way he was breathing unusually fast, his heart was pounding in slight fear.

"Y-Yeah... course." Braeburn mumbled. His eyes betrayed him.

"Y'know... this isn't something that you're supposed to be forced into." Soarin mumbled "I don't want you to feel like you have to. If you're scared, or think it'll hurt you... you really don't have to do this."

Braeburn bit his lower lip and gnawed for several moments. "I'm just... nervous..." He mumbled "I want you to feel like I mean it... I don't want to half ass this buckin' thing!" He seemed frightened, his voice was rising and his eyes welled in tears. "I'm scared, I'm scared that if ya don't think I mean it ya'll..." He paused.

"I'm not abandoning you." Soarin mumbled. "If you have any doubts, I won't protest."

Braeburn closed his eyes and sniffled gently. He had never done or thought about anything like this before. He was shy, he was beyond nervous, and even slightly trembling as he sat on Soarin's belly. "Everything... I've been taught told me this is wrong." He mumbled. "I know it's stupid... but I'm afraid I'll explode, or die or get some fatal disease if I do this..."

"You're folks are the stupid ones for making you think that." Soarin mumbled. "I think I'm living proof that bucking crap won't happen. But I'm not going to push you."

Braeburn whimpered gently and wiped his eyes with his hoof. "I want to..." He protested, anger deep inside of him for being so weak and not being able to do something as simple as this. "I just... I just need a minute..."

Soarin was silent for several moments as he studied the other closely. His upper legs lowered themselves to his chest as he folded them and thought for a moment. "Say Brae... do you love me?" He asked. He cocked up a brow as he looked up, the words must have taken the other by surprise by the way he jumped.

"W-What do you mean?" Braeburn said. His cheeks blushed deeply and so did his ears. Soarin gave a cocky little smile that seemed warm and loving. The yellow pony lowered his head as he thought for several moments. He ran a hoof over his chest to feel his thumping heart. He closed his eyes a moment "Yeah... I do." He mumbled. The words were strange on his tongue, as if they didn't belong, yet somehow felt right at the same time.

"If you love me... I know you'll be safe..." He mumbled.

Braeburn was silent for several moments. He took in a deep breath and nodded slowly "Okay... I'm ready..."

Things were never going to be the same after that night.

Braeburn felt the warm upper legs tighten around his body. He nuzzled his face into the fuzzy chest that he now laid on, the fuzzy coat tickling his nose. Soarin was soft, amazingly soft. He was as curled up as he could possibly get, the bed might as well not be there considering Soarin had turned into his mattress. A tongue was gently licking his cheek, it soothed his blushing face. His body was covered in sweat, and so was Soarin's.

"It didn't hurt, did it, buddy?" Soarin asked, gently kissing the others cheek, holding him tightly with both arms and wings. His muzzle breathed in the apply scent of the other deeply.

Braeburn shrugged "Yeah, but I think I might be bleedin'" He mumbled, blushing a deeper red.

"That happens the first few times, you get used to it." Soarin mumbled reassuringly. It was so easy for Soarin to talk about things like this, Braeburn felt his chest tighten the more he even thought about it. "I'm glad you can trust me enough though..." The pegasus mumbled, kissing the younger's neck before nibbling lightly.

Braeburn both giggled and squirmed in pleasure at Soarin's nibbling. He cracked open his eyes to kiss Soarin's chest lightly several times. "It's strange..." He mumbled. It paused his kissing, noticing Soarin had stopped his nibbling,

"Hmmm?"

Braeburn was silent for several moments "I mean... I know it sounds stupid an' all, but I 'aven't felt like I've been loved... I mean really loved... for a really long time." He was silent for several moments before blinking slowly to rid his eyes of the wallowing tears. He was glad that Soarin didn't respond, only cuddled him tighter. He wasn't sure how he would hold up if they delved deep into this topic.

"Guess things are different now." Soarin mumbled, nuzzling the others head lightly.

"Why did you... come back?" Braeburn finally mumbled. This seemed to catch the pegasi's attention as he paused for a long time without saying anything. Soarin's grip loosened, but quickly tightened again.

"I didn't plan on coming back." He confessed. Braeburn winced, and sniffled loudly. He couldn't help it, it just happened. "Calm down Brae, things changed." He mumbled, rubbing the others back gently under the feathery wings. He was silent for several moments "I... I think I have a confession to make." He mumbled.

Braeburn glanced up, his eyes looking deep into Soarin's. He didn't like the guilt he saw in them, in fact he hated it more than anything. The silence filled the room and the pitter patter of rain on the roof filled it. "What?" He asked, afraid of the answer.

"For a long time now," Soarin mumbled "I've tried my best to try and help everypony I've met who was like you... I tried to stay away from Earth ponies since they were hard to convince..." Braeburn didn't say anything, only listened. "I take them on a few dates, tease them, and eventually get them to confess what they really feel. I always thought that it was the right thing to do, so many of them were in denial..." Soarin said.

Braeburn sat up, breaking away from the wings, his eyes suddenly watered "D-Does that m-mean I've been nothin' but a t-test?" He asked. He felt like something was about to break in him, his heart cracked.

"No, no buddy." Soarin quickly said, sitting up "Calm down, let me explain, please." He whispered soothingly as he wrapped his upper legs around the other and brought him to his warm chest. Braeburn sniffled loudly, and Soarin could feel something wet on his chest. It was a bad idea to tell him on this night... after everything that happened, he wasn't sure just how much the other was able to take before he broke.

"Like I said, let me explain." Soarin whispered into his ear. He waited a few moments for Braeburn to calm down before continuing. "Lately... I've been trying to stop doing that," Soarin mumbled "Because sometimes I get too attached to some of them, and then they act like you did back on the train, some of them have even gotten violent." The pegasus nuzzled the other gently. Braeburn didn't say a single word.

"Anyways... when I heard that bartender call you a coltcuddler... I seriously considered just ignoring you, and moving on with my life. But... I looked at you and you just seemed so sad to me, like you had been defeated."

Braeburn glanced up "I... I used to be friends with a lot of the people in town." He suddenly said, "I used to be a lot more friendly, and didn't cry this easily." He whimpered out, gripping the other tightly. "But... afta' the rumors got out... when nopony talked to me anymore, and I start'd to get b-b-bullied for no reason... I just shut myself d-down, I couldn't take it."

"I thought that." Soarin mumbled. "I just... I just couldn't let you stay like that for some reason."

Braeburn glanced up "Why?"

"No idea." Soarin mumbled. "But I did the same routine as always, flirt, ask you out, bother you endlessly, the same as always... but you were different from the others." He mumbled, letting that part sink in for quite a long time before starting up again. "You didn't hate me for no reason, yet were just irritated by me and my goofiness, and only lost your temper when I pushed you too far. When we went to the show, you just talked for hours about how amazing I was, it made my chest feel all warm and tingly for some reason." Soarin let the other get off of his chest for a moment, looking into Braeburn's eyes before kissing his forehead lightly, as if he had to. "When I pretended to be drunk and pass out, a lot of the times I do that, most of the ponies just let me fall. But you caught me and held me even though we were in public, you even cuddled me and drug me to that room through that giant crowd!"

"A-Anypony would..." Braeburn mumbled, his cheeks tinting.

"No, they seriously wouldn't." Soarin chuckled "But even when I practically harassed you the next morning, you still took care of me even though you were seriously hung over... you were just so nice, and amazing..." Soarin was silent for a long time "When I kissed you... after hearing you tell me what your father did... I did it more for making you feel better than for helping you decide who you were... you were so sad, I couldn't stand it."

Braeburn glanced up, his eyes wide with shock. "I... I just..." Soarin put a hoof over his mouth and shook his head, as if to force the other not to say anything.

"You let me kiss you for so long... and a lot of the time when the other ponies throw me on the ground, they try and attack me more..." Soarin was silent for a long time after that. "I stayed on the train a long time, wondering what to do. I thought about chasing you, but I decided against it."

Braeburn opened his mouth, and without thinking said "I cried... for a long time after that." He realized this would make Soarin feel worse rather than better, but by the time it dawned on him, it was too late.

"Yeah... I'm sorry, Brae." Soarin said. "B-But, when I went back to my squad, I couldn't stop thinking about you, you kept popping up in my mind, no matter how much I tried to push you away... Tonight I had a show... and I decided to try and find you, just to say goodbye, or something." Soarin snuggled closer to Braeburn "But... when I saw those three hurting you... I seriously thought I was going to kill them... When I saw you crying, I wanted nothing more than to swoop you up, and save you and make you stop..." Soarin's voice was cracking. Braeburn glanced up and saw his eyes welling in tears before the other closed them.

It took Soarin a few minutes to calm down "If you... if you decided you liked colts on the train back there... I'm not sure what I would do." He mumbled "Most of the time, I just date them for a month, and then break it off because I have to travel so much. Most of the time it hurts them more than me..." He mumbled "But if they were like you, I let them go and live their lives, letting the seed of truth I planted just spread until they finally accepted it... but you were so different."

Braeburn glanced up. He winced as he tried to sit up, he was going to have a hard time with that for a few days. He broke away from Soarin's tight embrace and looked into his eyes. Soarin's own eyes glistened in tears. It didn't seem right for the pegasus to cry, not when Soarin was so strong. He leaned in and kissed the other's muzzle. "I love you, Soarin." He mumbled, smiling softly at the pegasus "I... I'm glad you decided to talk to me."

Soarin was silent for several moments before weakly smiling "Love you too... Brae..." He leaned forward and wrapped his upper legs around the other, giving him the biggest hug of his life.

"I won't abandon you, I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"You're my best friend."**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Chapter 7: Apples and Feathers**

Strangely enough, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Braeburn didn't wake up with any nightmares, or a sense of bitter loneliness with a hole in his chest. In fact, his chest was overly fluttery before his mind had given himself a chance to process why his body was encased in fur and feathers surrounding him. Warm breath tickled his cheek, but he dared not to make any movements to scratch or stop the slight annoyance. He liked the feeling of this being so close to him. Something was rubbing his belly in circles, gently, twirling around the fur as his hooves gently caressed and calmed him down, echoing him back to sleep. His eyes shifted under the curtain of lids, getting ready to open to see who or what was caring for him with such gentle and loving hooves.

The first sudden movement felt on his skin was something mashing against his lips, his eyes fluttered open to catch a glimpse of light blue fur. Memories began to rush to his head, the pegasus holding him was important to him... more important than anything at the current moment.

When the other broke from him, it took Braeburn a moment to realize he was suddenly gasping. He must have run out of breath without even realizing it. The other's face smiled down at him, it was friendly, kind, caring...

"Morning... Brae." Soarin mumbled. Braeburn lightly blushed. It took him at least ten full seconds to realize just how fast his own heart was beating, and another ten to come to terms with the fact that he didn't care at this point. "Sleep good?" He asked.

Braeburn took a long time to come up with words to fit everything. His head snuggled closer to Soarin's upper legs that he had been using as a pillow "That was... hehe, a real new way er sayin' good mornin', Ah'll give ya that." He chuckled lightly.

Soarin chuckled as well "Just be lucky it wasn't another slap on you ass." He joked lightly. This time as the other's cheeks tinted in pink, Soarin just smirked and nuzzled his muzzle against the others, his own cheeks blushing as well. "Morning, buddy." He mumbled.

Braeburn smiled, it was the first time in a lifetime that he had woken up this happy. He winced slightly at his sore sides, but didn't say anything. Soarin cocked up a brow, folding his wings that had encased the other to his sides "Still hurting?" He asked.

Braeburn shrugged. "A little..." He mumbled. He wanted to say so much more, tell the other that his knight in shining armor so to speak had saved his life and managed to glue the pieces to his broken heart together all in a night. The earth pony had given everything to the pegasus, all because of his trust he had given both his heart and body in one night. He still hadn't come to grips with what this meant for the either of them, nor could piece the puzzle together of what would happen next. He smiled softly, and the goofy grin in return forced his heart to leap.

Soarin put both hooves behind his back and gently wiggled his lower half back and forth, as if he were becoming a tad antsy. He likely wanted to fly, but the want to stay and talk with Braeburn overpowered it easily, for his face betrayed no signs. "You don't look real blissful... sleepin' I mean." Soarin mumbled thoughtfully. He spoke with ease as he stared into the others face with no betrayal of emotion. He was just speaking his mind "I like it a lot better when you blush all the time."

"I... I didn't sleep well?" Braeburn mumbled. He cocked up a brow. The last thing he remembered was hugging Soarin, he was so happy back then...

"Yeah... when I got up, looked like you were tossing and turning a lot, kinda like you were uncomfortable... you calmed down real fast after I cuddled you though." Soarin lightly teased lightly, still a touch of concern in his voice "Do you have problems... sleeping I mean?"

This time Braeburn sat there a few moments in silence "I... I dream a lot..." He mumbled "But... around three months ago, I started dreaming about... stuff..." He looked uneasy. Soarin blinked and nodded. He wasn't sure if the other understood the dreams that had been bothering him that he was too scared to talk about, but he hoped for the best.

Soarin blinked, not betraying a single emotion outside of his own character. Braeburn was just happy to see him smile like the goof he was. His heart skipped a beat the longer he stared, and even when he tried to glance away he found himself looking back. "I... I think I should head ta the apple orchard... I'm already late as it 'tis" He mumbled. He truthfully didn't want to go, but everypony had to live and work, at least that was one of the few lessons he still could believe in. Part of him was screaming at him to stay, in case Soarin decided to get the flock out of Appleloosa, and only truly wanted Braeburn for what he had given up the previous night. That fear was a mere seed, but it was still there.

As he was sitting up and turned to grab his hat, a body landed on his back, and a pair of light blue wings draped over his bare body, holding him down as teeth scraped on his ear. "C'mon Braeburn, let's just go back to bed..." He mumbled, shaking the other lightly.

"Soar, I gotta leave..." Braeburn mumbled.

"No you don't." Soarin grumbled out. "You're hurt, I can do it later, just come back and cuddle with me." He begged, voice a tad whiny as he was suddenly yanked back to Soarin's chest and locked in tight upper legs. "I don't want to kill anypony because of you."

"Soarin, I..." Braeburn mumbled, or at least he started to.

"I'm not letting you go out there alone..." He mumbled suddenly. Braeburn paused briefly, the tone of his voice was... nervous if the earth pony had to place it into words. "What if you get hurt worse, what if those colts want to settle things with you because their too big of cowards to find me. Or what if some other mob tries to attack you... no way no how am I letting you go out alone." Soarin said, squeezing the other tighter "I'm not sure how much help I could be, I'm still sore after the show and... everything else..." He mumbled.

Braeburn felt a kiss be planted on the back of his head, along with gentle nuzzling. "Please don't go..." The yellow pony held his breath before lifting a hoof and rubbing the other's upper leg gently. He was trembling slightly, and afraid to breathe as the memory forced it's way to the surface. Arms gently rubbed his belly and chest in light circles.

"That's enough bucking sentiment." Soarin mumbled as he grabbed the other's body. Braeburn jumped as he was hoisted into a lap and slammed onto the bed, Soarin somehow finding a way to his other side in front of him. He smiled happily and nuzzled the other's muzzle and giving it a peck. He wrapped the other in his arms happily, giving his chest a few kisses and licks.

Braeburn still had the battle in the back of his mind telling him the feelings he had were false... but he couldn't bring himself to believe them, not after the previous night.

The only land farm able in all of Appleloosa was where the Apple Orchard was, the ground was soft with patches of grass here and there. It was the only way the two thrived with so much life in such a rough part of the world. However... according to a certain pegasus, the hill covered in grass they had discovered was perfect for nap taking.

It was strange, watching Soarin fly out and collect twenty barrels worth of apples in an hours time. He said he had gotten slow, since he was still sore. Even though he said he flew like a screwball, Braeburn still was in awe at the grace and elegance in each and every arc in flight he flew. It was as if he were the wind, he never fought against it, only moved with it.

The barrels surrounding them would have to wait several hours before being turned in, or else Sheriff Silverstar would grow suspicious. At the current moment, Braeburn was on his back, smiling at Soarin who was next to him, upper legs behind his head as he watched the clouds intently, a smile on his own face. Braeburn couldn't get over just how much his heart thumped in his chest, nor find a way to stop his burning cheeks whenever Soarin shot a smirk in his direction. His belly was filled with butterflies, and the longer he spent on that hill, the more and more the guilt faded.

All they did for the better part of the morning was talk. Talk about favorite colors, childhood stories, opinions on mares, anything that popped into their heads. They spent most of the time lying next to each other pointing out clouds, but occasionally Soarin would link hooves with him, or start cuddling and nibbling on his lips for no reason other than he could. When the conversation led to mares, Braeburn really had no choice other than talking about his childhood or all of the dates his parents set him up on. It was during most of those times that Soarin started cuddling him, and it was the closest of times for Braeburn to lose his smile.

"Ah used to hate it when mares did nothin' but talk 'bout all of this. It made ma head spin a lot." Braeburn mumbled, just getting out of a ten minute conversation about favorite foods he wouldn't remember by the time the next topic heated up. "Guess I'm a bit of a judgmental stallion, aren't I?"

Soarin shrugged, flexing his wings out to stretch them as he gave out a huge yawn "Dunno, but it THAT bad with me, is it?" He asked, cocking up a brow as his cheeks blushed lightly and he gave a big grin.

Braeburn shook his head just as Soarin teasingly hugged him and kissed his cheek "Too bad if I am, Because you ain't getting rid of me that easily!" He snarled playfully, a feathery wing teasingly tickling the others chin as he stole the hat from atop the stallions head with the snag of a wing and placed it upon his own "How's that sound, partner?" He said, in a horrible country accent that made Braeburn laugh and Soarin blush.

"Great." Braeburn chuckled, snuggling tightly into the others chest "Long as ya don't go stealin' my hat!" He snagged the other with a leg and ripped the hat off before nibbling on the others ears. It was a nice change to see Soarin blush instead of him.

The rest of the morning was along these lines. Soarin's teasing didn't hurt him anymore, nor did it cause confused feelings. Some part of him deep down told him the better half of two weeks was not long enough to build a relationship where he should trust somepony this much... but his entire heart had already been lassoed and stolen by the pegasus. Braeburn honestly didn't have that much of a choice now. All that mattered to him in all honesty was whether or not Soarin would decide he liked Braeburn enough to not abandon him after a month.

[i] "I won't abandon you. I promise"[/i]

Braeburn intended to make Soarin keep his word.

The trip home in the start of the afternoon was easier than one would have expected. Braeburn didn't notice the incredibly nasty looks, nor the insults, nor did he care to pay attention. The only reason he honestly knew about any of these things was the fact that Soarin kept glaring behind him ever few moments, and even then he returned to goofy and playful in ten seconds flat.

He didn't try to kiss him in public, it helped Braeburn cope in the very least with the town and their standards. He knew they couldn't judge him on facts if they were only walking and talking. Their could at least justify their actions toward him if they saw it with their own eyes.

By the time Braeburn got back to his house, Soarin pretty much tackled him through the door in a hug. The yellow pony now currently sat with a pegasus on top of him and breathing in his mane. Braeburn groaned "Can't ya go ten minutes without cuddlin' me?" He snarled. In all honesty, he didn't mind it, and the snarl was more playful than anything.

"Dunno, but I don't wanna find out." Soarin mumbled, trying to take in the others scent. If the pegasus had to describe it, the two were at the honeymoon stage, the height of their romance. He wanted to live it up while he could in the very least, for both his and Braeburn's sake.

Braeburn still manged to stand up, being an earth pony and several times stronger than the other he did it with ease. He was about to take a step with the other clinging to his back before his hoof stepped on something. He glanced down and saw the crumpled letter at his hooves. Soarin must have spotted this as well, for he slid off the others back and looked at it closely. "What's that?" He asked.

Braeburn opened the letter with his teeth, pulling out a small piece of paper. He realized there was no postage stamp, meaning it had to have been hoof delivered. He blinked several times as he took his eyes from Soarin to the letter as he unfolded it. His eyes scanned the page for several moments. They soon widened.

"Brae... what's up?" Soarin asked. Braeburn re-read the letter again. He felt his own hooves tremble slightly as his coat grew warm with worry as he began to sweat. Soarin suddenly yanked the letter away from the other and read over the words. There were only seven.

"Come home tonight, we need to talk." Soarin mumbled aloud. He looked over the letter. There was no name... but it didn't take a genius to guess who it was from based on Braeburn's trembling. He glanced down at the other, who hadn't budged an inch. "Braeburn, you okay buddy?" He asked, placing a hoof on the other's shoulder and shaking him gently. Braeburn jumped and glanced at Soarin quickly, he opened his mouth, but it was dry. "Why... why do you think your father wants you home?"

Braeburn took in a gasp of air as he attempted to calm down. He was unsuccessful. Soarin placed a hoof on his shoulder again "Hey, Brae, for pony's sake, you don't HAVE to go." He soothed. "You can stay here if you want, your dad ain't gonna drag you home."

"He might..." Braeburn mumbled "I've always been... scared of him... to go 'gainst his wishes." The yellow pony gnawed on his lip for a long time. He brought a hoof up to his chin and quickly glanced around in a nervous panic, as if he expected said pony to attack him at random. Soarin's ears dropped as he gave his friend a sympathetic look.

"Brae... don't go." Soarin said "You don't want too."

"I have too."

"No, you don't, and anypony who say's otherwise has to deal with me." Soarin stated, puffing out his chest. He stopped boasting the moment he saw Braeburn's watering eyes. He had never seen Braeburn scared before... this was it.

"Soar... if I don't... he'll..." Braeburn mumbled, he suddenly had a tear spill over. He lifted a hoof to wipe it away. A wing beat him to it, gently stroking under his eyelid. He glanced at Soarin thoughtfully. The pegasus smiled softly.

"Hey, Buddy, if you need to go, I can't stop you... but I'm going with you." Soarin mumbled, nuzzling the other gently.

Braeburn sniffled loudly before hugging the other tightly in a sudden movement. He was warm, he felt loved... he kept reminding himself of these things, and it was easy for him to calm down, mostly with Soarin rubbing his back.

"Bucking hell." Soarin grumbled before rubbing the other's bandages "I said I didn't want to kill anypony today..."

"I don't know if I can do this." Braeburn mumbled.

"Then don't." Soarin stated simply as he stroked the other's mane "It isn't too late to just turn around and go home." The offer was tempting "Maybe just cuddle up under the blanket and move on with our lives." That second offer was even worse. Braeburn had to bite his lip as the house came into sight. He knew he had to do this... if anything just to settle things.

"Can ya... can ya just wait out here?" Braeburn mumbled. Soarin cocked up a brow, and began to open his mouth "I won't get hurt, and the doors are thin enough for ya ta get in if anything goes wrong." He looked into the other's eyes "I know I promised ya that you could come... but this is somethin'... personal."

"Personal like last night, or personal as in sappy personal?" Soarin said, an attempt at a lame joke that Braeburn only chuckled at because he was nervous enough. "I'm kidding." He finally said before rubbing the other's back. "But... seriously, after I came all the way here?"

"I'm serious." Braeburn stated

Braeburn rolled his eyes and smiled at the other nervously as they approached the door. He lifted a hoof to knock before Soarin grabbed it. Braeburn glanced at him and felt lips peck his forehead "I'll be out here... just hurry up, alright?"

Braeburn nodded. He didn't know why, but those words gave him a little strength. Soarin smirked and spread his wings, gliding back several feet and crouching down in the shadows to hide. Braeburn looked at him for a good ten seconds, receiving a smirk of a smile. He took a deep breath and lifted one of his hooves, and knocked on the door.

"Come in." A scratchy, raspy voice came. Braeburn winced slightly as he all but whimpered as he slowly opened the door, striking one final glance at the pegasus who lifted his ears to hear the sounds from the inside clearer. Braeburn stepped into the house, the old, wooden floor creaking. Memories of the house filled him mind, before he had been kicked out. It wasn't his childhood home... but it was still the place he once called home... and it was a darn good home too, not including the roommates.

"Pa... where's Ma?" Braeburn mumbled as he glanced at his father, giving him a stern and disapproving glance as usual. The last time he had seen the stallion... was the night he slept in the middle of an alleyway with a bleeding and bruised body. The nervous tension in his voice was obvious.

"I hear you left town last week with a...[b] stallion[/b]." The colt growled. He gave the word stallion emphasis, and it made Braeburn wince. "And you came here like that? For Celestia's sake boy, where's your vest at least, what's with those bandages?

"So?" The yellow pony mumbled, trying to ignore the other's comments on his appearance and where he went with Soarin. "Why do you care? You threw me out."

"I called you here tonight because..."

"You didn't... answer my question." Braeburn mumbled, more to himself than his father. A deathly glare was shot his way, and he bit his lip shut. He closed his eyes and found himself cowering. He felt weak, he wanted Soarin. "I'm sorry..." He all but whimpered. He felt guilt once more for thinking about Soarin. He couldn't rely on the other forever.

The wooden creaking of the floor caught his ears. He glanced over toward the doorway in the hallway. He saw his mother come out, looking a tad worried. She was followed by somepony. It was a mare... she was dressed nicely, in a saddle. Her coat was light green, with an all white mane and tail that curled. Braeburn felt nothing, but noticed his own father blushed lightly, only to receive a glare from his mother.

"Braeburn..." His mother said gently "This... is Sunny Spark." She said. Braeburn glanced to her back, realizing she was a pegasus. She blushed lightly. He had never seen her in this town, she must either be new or called in just for this occasion. She looked away, and it was at this point Braeburn realized he was glaring. He gave her sympathetic eyes quickly before turning the glare to his mother.

"What is this about?" He mumbled out.

"Son... we are giving ya one final chance not to make a damn fool of yarself and ruin our family." His father growled, pointing with his head toward the pegasus. She blushed and waved her hoof at him. Braeburn felt bad. She was pretty, she really was. She didn't seem like all that bad of a pony, and had only gotten mixed up in this on a whim. "Sunny is 'ere to help you."

"I don't need any more chances," Braeburn mumbled "And I don't need your gosh darn 'elp either."

His father snarled out in anger, Braeburn jumped lightly. He felt fear ripple through his body. What would Soarin do at a time like this. "Is this all ya called me out here for?" He asked, turning to his father "Pa, I think I'm going to leave." He tried to say this boldly. His legs still trembled however, giving away his lies of bravery.

He began to walk away "Don't go out that door, Braeburn." His father snarled out. The yellow pony felt his coat stand on end as his eyes began to water. He screamed at himself in his mind and blinked away the tears, determined not to break down. "My son is not a damn coltcuddler, and tonight he is going to fall in love with a mare, like it should be!"

"I..." Sunny began. She looked away. Braeburn's own mother looked distressed at her son's behavior, she whispered things to her like it was just a phase he was going through. She glanced at him sympathetically

"Pa... I..."

"My little foal was raised as a straight pony, and he will remain that way. He is not going to go against everything that is supposed to happen!" His father almost yelled. Braeburn glanced at Sunny. He began to walk over. She seemed a tad frightened. He felt sorry for her. He ignored his mother and gently placed a hoof on her cheek, fighting off the fear his father was giving him. She blushed lightly. She might have a crush on him.

"I think you look beautiful, and you seem like a good mare... but I'm sorry Sunny," Braeburn mumbled to her "I'm sorry you got tangled in this mess, I'm sure you'll make a colt happy, but not me." He nuzzled her forehead apologetically.

"It's alright." She mumbled. Her voice was soft, cute even. But it didn't send a spark through Braeburn in the slightest. He missed Soarin's raspy voice. Braeburn became glad she was a pegasus, and not an earth pony.

"Turn around and look at me." His father growled. Braeburn gulped, showing fear on his face for a brief moment before Soarin's face popped into his mind. He wanted to prove he could take care of himself. He turned around, but his poker face was strong.

"Listen here, no son of mine is..."

"Pa..." Braeburn interrupted, seeing the anger on his fathers face "I don't care w-what you think." He growled out. He took a step forward, his legs trembling slightly. He could vividly remember being hit again and again, blood coming from his body. It was the first time Soarin made him feel safe because he was crying so much when he told it to the pegasus, but now it seemed to fuel his anger. "Listen, I a-ain't gonna be miserable just 'cause you don't approve of me."

His father gritted his teeth. He always had anger problems, one of the main reasons Braeburn kept his distance when they lived together. However, he kept talking. "I... I..." He paused a moment, looking behind him at his mother before taking a deep breath and turning back, looking his father dead in the eyes. "I like colts!" He shouted. It wasn't like the last time he said it, it didn't just slip out on accident, it had been thought through and actively planned out.

"I don't give a buck what ya think of me, I'm 'appy with who I am, and right now I don't care if ya ever talk to me again." Braeburn growled, becoming more and more confident as he took another step forward "I thank ya kindly for raisin' me the way you did, because if you didn't, I wouldn't 'ave started goin' to the bar, and I would have never met Soarin there."

His father tensed up "Who?" He snarled.

Braeburn bit his lip a moment "Soarin..." He stated "The greatest, kindest, funnest, and... and sexiest stallion in all of Equestria!" His cheeks tinted red as he said this, and his mother gasped. "He makes me feel like sompony cares about me, unlike you or Ma. He has never told me there's something wrong with me, and helped me come to terms with all of dis..." He bit his lip. "I... I love him." He whispered.

"My son... has not fallen in love with another pony."

Braeburn felt his throat close as his eyes watered, his chest hurt from shouting, he almost never shouted. He felt fear at this moment. He looked up "I love him." He growled out, eyes spilling their tears "I love him more than you love me, and I know he loves me too." He said "Last night... last night I..."

"Son..."

"I let him buck me!" Braeburn shouted, this time everypony in the room gasped, including Sunny. Braeburn's eyes stung as he looked up "I loved it... I love how safe he made me feel, and I loved it when he cuddled me all night long." He stated.

His father was now breathing heavily. Braeburn bit his lip "I'm almost glad that... that those three tried to kill me last night... because he saved me... and I asked him to kiss me... I... I..." His eyes spilled their tears faster. "I love him because he is the only pony to care about me so much in years. More than you and Ma ever did."

Braeburn glanced up, a hoof was raised over his head. It started to come down. The earth pony braced for impact and pain. He closed his eyes and shrunk down into a ball on the floor. The feeling was familiar... to familiar for his liking.

He did it... he stood up to his father.

Braeburn however didn't feel pain. He glanced up, seeing his father's face, it looked like it was struggling. It was only then that the yellow pony saw a light blue arm above him as well.

"Soarin..." Braeburn mumbled. Soarin didn't give a cocky smile, or tease him, or look like his usual self in the slightest. His eyes held pure hatred.

"Listen here... bud." The pegasus growled, locking eyes with the struggling earth pony. He didn't even flinch as Braeburn found himself clinging tightly to the other's side as he stood up halfway. "If you ever try to touch or hurt Braeburn again... I'm going to bucking kill you." He sounded serious. "You're the reason he's been having such a hard time his entire life deciding who he was..." He was silent for several moments before grabbing the other's upper leg and throwing him on the ground. Braeburn jumped as the body slammed down hard. "But... I think I'll let you live... even though you don't deserve it after all the crap you put him through... you..."

Braeburn felt himself be hoisted up as a wing wiped under his eyes. "You still brought Brae to me in the long run... I'm glad for that." He said, lightly nuzzling the others cheek. Before Braeburn could say anything, he felt himself be drug out by the other as a hoof wrapped around his leg.

"Ponies like that piss me off." Soarin grumbled. He drug the earth pony, who didn't dare complain, a good hundred feet before stopping. He stopped only for one reason. He turned to Braeburn, who had his head lowered, his chest trembled.

"C'mon Brae, it'll be okay, cheer up..."

The sound to escape Braeburn's throat wasn't one anypony would expect. "Pffffft, Bwahahaha, d-d-did you sehehehe his face?" Braeburn cried out, laughing his head off "He was... he was so scared, and when you flipped him... I think I almost lost it there!"

Soarin smirked, his eyes returning to normal. He started chuckling as well "Yeah, I guess it was pretty funny." He smirked as the other clung to him like glue for support. The pegasus suddenly grabbed the other and slammed his body into the nearest building, mashing lips with him and forcing his tongue in his mouth. It took Braeburn by surprise. Soarin broke away "I love you." He said quickly before mashing his lips back. His hooves began to travel down the other's sides, one slowly drifted to the small of the others back.

Soarin suddenly pulled away as something tapped his shoulder. He turned to see a mint green pegasus, who was blushing violently ask in a tiny voice "Are you... are you um... [i]The[/i] Soarin?" She asked "The Wonderbolt's one?"

Soarin nodded, hearing Braeburn let out a moan as the other's belly rubbed against his front.

Sunny smiled before blushing harder, seeing as how the pegasus had his wings out behind him and Braeburn looked to be on cloud nine as hooves rubbed just past his cute mark. "You're a lucky colt... Braeburn." She mumbled.

"And you're a good looking one." Soarin said with a smirk, causing the other to blush.

"Hey..." Braeburn whimpered gently "W-What 'bout me?" He asked.

Soarin watched Sunny fly away, not wanting to see any more of the two's private moment. Soarin turned back "You're not good looking, you're just sexy." He said teasingly.

Lips connected once more.

Braeburn knew for a fact now, that Soarin was in love with him.

Braeburn felt his eyes flutter open. He reached for the spot next to him, but found nothing. He groaned as he sat up, feeling a tad soar in the rear. He glanced around the room a few times, looking for Soarin. He spotted him looking out the window. "Soarin?" Braeburn asked. The other seemed distracted, as if he were thinking about something.

The pegasus turned, looking a tad sad.

Braeburn got out of the bed and started to walk toward the other, worry in his eyes. He didn't know what was wrong, he just wanted to know why Soarin looked so sad. "Soar, what's u-"

"I'm leaving..." Soarin mumbled. "Tonight."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"The only thing I love more than you, is the way you treat me."**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Chapter 8: Finale**

The shock of silence filled the room as quick as a lightning bolt would. Braeburn stood there in place, dumbfounded beyond belief. He could sense his legs were trembling, along with his mouth going dry in a panic. His eyesight suddenly stung, and began to blur. "W-What?" He asked, trying to keep his voice just above a whimper. He had to have heard that wrong... he just had too.

"I said I'm leaving." Soarin mumbled, now sitting down on his rump as he looked down at his hooves, ashamed of himself. "Tonight's the night my squad and I are heading back to Cloudsdale for the next part of tour..." He seemed distracted as his hoof began to draw circled on the wooden floorboards. He gnawed on his lip for several moments, daring to take a quick glance up with his emerald eyes.

Braeburn had his hat down so Soarin wasn't able to see his eyes. However, based on the heaving of the other's chest, it wasn't difficult to nail down what the orbs of green looked like. Braeburn sniffled lightly. "Ya... ya said t-that..." He was silent for several moments. "Ya said ya wouldn't abandon me..." He whimpered, biting his own lip to suppress his sobs a little while longer. Fear ran through his mind, trapping him, entangling him.

Soarin was silent for several moments as he looked out the window into the bright sun of Celestia. It moved too fast, this entire conversation wasted their precious time together. His own eyes watered, yet he closed his eyes to hold back the tears. "Come with me." He mumbled.

Braeburn's head shot up, a stream of tears coming from his eyes, forcing Soarin to physically wince at the sight. He didn't want to make his lover cry, not now, not ever. He forced himself to look into the eyes of the other. "W-What ya say?" Braeburn asked.

Soarin smiled softly "Come with me." He said, louder than before, standing up on all fours "It'll be great, you can travel Equestria, you'll see all the sights, you can..."

"I can't." Braeburn winced as he said this, biting his lip. Soarin sat there with his mouth open before shaking his head, dumbfounded and confused.

"What?" Soarin asked. He cocked up a brow, his eyes showing a hint of anger and frustration "What do you mean you can't, your life is horrible here, you can't stand it, you would be dead if it wasn't for me!"

Braeburn turned away, his back facing Soarin. "I... I just can't." He mumbled. "Apple bucking... it's the only darn thing I know how to do... I'm just a stupid pony who can't do anything but help a town who hates him, Pa made me work on the farm my entire life, he wouldn't let me look into anythin' else!" Braeburn grabbed his hat and pulled it down "I... I won't be able to do anything else, not where you're going to take me..."

"Brae, you aren't a stupid pony." Soarin snapped, then forced himself to calm down, for he might scare Braeburn if he started yelling "And you don't need to work, you don't even have to do anything if you want to, with the money I make, I can support us both easily!" Soarin said, taking a step forward and placing a hoof on Braeburn's shoulder. The earth pony shook him off, striking a bullet through the pegasi's heart. "Don't you... want to be with me?" He asked.

"You aren't gettin' the darn point!" Braeburn shouted. He was then silent for several moments as he lifted a hoof to his eyes and angrily wiped. "I want to be with you, I want to go anywhere you take me!" The yellow pony whimpered out "B-But I... I wasn't meant for travelin', not like ya are, I wasn't born to travel the world, I was born just to work and never leave this part of Equestria, I'm not ready for going place to place, everypony around here is the same, nopony here was meant for traveling..." Braeburn paused to sniffle loudly "You... you were meant to see the world, it's in a pegasi's blood... If I did go with you... how much would I be holding you down from all of that?"

"You... you wouldn't... you woul-"

"How much?" Braeburn snapped, whipping his head around, a brief moment of frustration in his eyes.

Soarin lowered his own head, staying in silence for several moments. He tried to form a sentence, a lie, but it wouldn't form. He couldn't lie to Braeburn. "Likely, at first I'd have to leave you behind if we did any shows in in sky... and if Spitfire just suddenly dropped on us we had to leave in an instant, we would have to leave you too..." Soarin glanced down "We have shows every other week while not on tour, I'm not really sure how long we have between tours, Spitfire does all of the planning for us..."

"See?" Braeburn whimpered out. "I'd hardly see ya, Ah'd be alone all the time, and when ya finally are home ya'll be exhausted, and Ah would feel too guilty to bother ya, am I right?"

"But you won't see me at all if you don't come!" Soarin yelled, suddenly wrapping his upper legs around Braeburn and burying his face in the other's bare back "I... I don't want to go!" He suddenly wailed "Not without you, I don't want to leave you behind!"

Braeburn could tell Soarin was now crying. He had never seen Soarin cry, not this much, and the sounds were breaking his heart. "That's why... If we won't see each other anyway... we should just... maybe we should... just end i-"

"Shut up!" Soarin yelled, squeezing the other tightly and turning his head to face him "I'm not going to abandon you here, all alone, where everypony hates you for no reason. I don't care... I don't care what I have to do, I'll still see you every day if you come with me..."

Braeburn bit his lip "Don't promise what ya can't keep." He mumbled, turning his head from Soarin's. He didn't want to see the other's tears, it hurt him too much. His own heart began to break, it was hurting him so much. Soarin crying, all of this conversation shouldn't have happened.

"I forgot..." Soarin mumbled "I forgot it was today, I had been having so much fun these past two weeks... I forgot about everything!" He whimpered.

Braeburn bit his lip "Ah did too."

Soarin looked up, tears flowing from his eyes before reaching up his hooves and bringing the other's head to his, nibbling on the other's lips for several moments before breaking away, sniffling loudly "Today... today is going to be the best day of your life, nothing is going to stop that."

"Soarin... I..." Braeburn stopped talking, finding he couldn't come up with words. Before he settled on anything, the other's lips crashed with his, this time much more forcefully. Braeburn was taken off of his hooves as a tongue entered his mouth.

Soarin kept it like that for the better half of an hour.

Braeburn sadly nuzzled the others cheek, curling up tighter under the light blue wing and hoof covering his back. He glanced out into the deserted terrain of the country. "We're up pretty high..." He mumbled, glancing down over the edge of the mountain as wind blew through his mane. He could feel Soarin shrug.

"Lucky you're so light." Soarin teased, a hint of sadness in his voice. Soarin had taken it upon himself to fly Soarin up to the highest place in sight with no warning whatsoever. He wasn't sure how he felt about this himself, but he was glad nopony could find them up here.

Soarin kissed his cheek, just as a thought popped into his mind "What are we going to do 'bout all of this?" Braeburn asked, shifting closer to the pegasus cuddling him "How are we going to ever see each other, or talk to each other like this?"

"I thought we weren't going to talk about that." Soarin mumbled, pausing his nuzzling. Braeburn felt his heart sink, he was silent as he simply shrugged, hoping Soarin would answer. The pegasus simply sighed "I guess I could write you... but you wouldn't be able to write back, me being away so much." Soarin paused, looking at the other intently. Braeburn lowered his head into his hooves, glancing at the ground.

"Oh."

Soarin blinked several times as he cuddled the other tighter. He seemed to think for a moment before smirking and grabbing the pair of goggles around his neck and lifting them above his head, danging them in front of Braeburn's eyes. The earth pony glanced up, cocking up a brow "Your goggles?" He asked, turning to the other "What's that for?"

The light blue pegasus smirked and nuzzled the other on his ear, causing Braeburn to blush. "This, my friend, is my treasure." He said, placing them in Braeburn's hooves.

"Treasure?" Braeburn mumbled, glancing at the other. Soarin felt his heart grow lighter, he had manged to take his lover's mind off of him leaving for a brief moment, and that made him happy.

"Yes, my treasure." Soarin said "My dad was a huge fan of the Wonderbolt's, so naturally I got to see a lot of them when I was a foal." The pegasus mumbled "It made him happy to go and see them, since he couldn't fly anymore after injuring his wing in an accident before I was born. it got me really interested in flying, watching them soar and zoom through the sky, they were so elegant and graceful, I wanted to be just like them."

"Then?" Braeburn asked, sitting up now, looking down at the other, keeping the goggles in his hooves securely.

"I started practicing my flying a lot more when I noticed how happy he seemed. I got real happy when he did, the more and more I flew. I think he was happy that I was able to fly and be so happy about it when he wasn't. The better I got, the more he smiled. So one day, he entered me into one Cloudsdale's best young fliers competition. I got real nervous, and almost didn't go out on stage, but I kept thinking of my dad, and when I finally flew out, I tried to imagine how happy he would be if I just did my best." Soarin was silent for a long time.

"I never flew faster than I did that day... I broke the wing speed that day, it's been broken since, in fact this one cyan pony did a Sonic Rainboom and broke the record just last year, but I broke it then with a wing speed of twenty five..." He paused a long time. "The Wonderbolt's were there, all of them retired since then, but they personally gave me the trophy and medal... I got my cutie mark that day... I was the youngest pegasus to ever win that competition."

"Really, the youngest?" Braeburn asked, wide eyes in awe. Soarin chuckled and kissed his cheek lightly, not believing how much the other was interested in this lame story.

"Yeah, the youngest, dude." Soarin said, looking up "My dad gave me those goggles after that, and I knew what I wanted to do, and that was to join the Wonderbolt's." Soarin grew silent. "That was the last thing he ever gave me..."

Braeburn was silent for a long time, and so was Soarin. "T-Then what?" He finally worked up the courage to ask.

"Dad got sick... real sick... It started off with the feather flu, and then it just got worse and worse..." Soarin mumbled "I promised him I would join the Wonderbolts... and he promised he he would get better if I did... I was still a stupid foal when that happened, I thought it was true." Soarin sighed loudly, as if remembering bad thoughts "It took me three years after that... but I became the youngest Wonderbolt ever too, I'm a full five years younger than anybody else on the squad..." Soarin paused "Dad died the next year... I remember being really angry because he broke his promise... it took me a long time to calm down and forgive him... I knew he loved me, and was glad I could fly well enough to be a Wonderbolt, like he always wanted to do... Those goggles are all I have of him."

Braeburn was silent before reaching out a hoof and putting the goggles right in front of Soarin's face "Here..." He mumbled "I'm... I'm not really sure what to say right now... Sorry."

Soarin chuckled before standing up and taking the goggles. He looked at them for a long time before stretching them out and putting them over Braeburn's head. The earth pony jumped "W-What are ya doin'?" He asked, slight alarm in his voice.

"Giving them to you." Soarin said, smiling sincerely.

"B-But these are your treasure!" Braeburn cried out, fumbling with the goggles now around his neck worriedly "I-I can't just take them from you!"

"That's why I'm giving them to you... it's a promise that I'll come back for them, alright?" Soarin asked "And until then, I want you to take good care of them, and don't get them broken or I ain't coming back!" He was half teasing with the last part. Braeburn was silent before smiling and suddenly holding the other in a hug, Soarin chuckled and hugged him back tightly.

"I'll take good care of 'em, promise."

The essence of twilight was on the horizon, it caused a deep hole in Braeburn's chest to open up as Soarin walked beside him through the two "The day was too short." He mumbled gently, a hoof caressing down his mane as Soarin attempted to comfort him.

"Hey buddy, it'll be alright, we still have plenty of time in the day." He mumbled "I told Spitfire I'll fly to Cloudsdale myself, so I can take all the blame if I'm late, I don't have to go for hours." He mumbled.

"Yeah..." Braeburn mumbled. He continued walking until a hoof stomped in front of him, blocking his path. "What is it?" He asked the pegasus.

Soarin's wings slapped in a direction to which Braeburn saw two groups of ponies dancing. "What's that?" He asked.

"Oh, that?" Braeburn asked "Wild west dancing and mild west dancing." He said. "I never really saw the big deal in the whole thing though, some of those ponies dance there all day long." He rolled his eyes "You can't be seriously interested in that."

"What's the difference?" Soarin asked.

"One's mild and ones wild." Braeburn said, only to earn a playful slap on the back of his head with a wing. "Ow..." He mumbled.

"I say we go and dance." Soarin said, flashing the other a grin of delight, his eyes sparkling with energy. He grabbed the other's hoof and began to drag him toward one of them.

"W-Wait!" Braeburn cried before he was flung in the midst of a group. He suddenly felt self conscious, and glanced to Soarin who looked to be having the time of his life as he kicked his hooves in the air. Braeburn blinked several times and watched the other. He stood there not moving as the other glanced at him before grabbing his hoof once more and swinging him close. "S-Soar..." He grumbled.

"What, it's a dance, isn't it?" Soarin teased as he caught the other in his upper legs and stuck out his tongue before swinging him out once more. Braeburn felt himself be spun once or twice, and after awhile found himself dancing to the music, focusing on Soarin to ignore the glares he was no doubt receiving from the other ponies around him.

Soarin smirked and spun him in once more, catching him. "Why are ya leading?" Braeburn mumbled, wincing as his cheek was licked by his lover.

"Because if I remember, last night I was on the to-"

"I get it!" Braeburn cried out as Soarin laughed out loud.

It was the first time he had danced with Soarin, and he found himself surprised at just how much fun he had.

The hours ticked by too quickly.

"Ya got everthin'?" Braeburn asked, looking deeply into the other's eyes. It was nightfall, it had finally come. Braeburn had a great time that day, nopony interrupted their fun, and he didn't feel he was wrong for anything he attempted to do. The only problem is that almost everything they did ended up with either of them thinking of just how little time they had together.

Soarin nodded, tightening his saddle bags around his sides. He glanced into Braeburn's eyes before smiling "Hey... d-don't look so sad." He mumbled, even though his own eyes were glimmering in tears. He smiled softly before reaching out a hoof and stroking Braeburn's cheek. The earth pony sniffled and then proceed to wipe his eyes with a hoof.

"Ah can't help it if I'm upset the... the sexiest pegasus in Equestria is leavin' me..." He whimpered out. He glanced out toward the apple orchard, it looked so different at night. It was hard to believe just how big it looked from here.

"The feeling's mutual." Soarin said, smiling softly. He saw that Braeburn smiled, yet his eyes welled in tears. Soarin felt his gut tighten as he suddenly grasped the other in the tightest hug possible "Sure you don't want to come with me?" He asked.

Braeburn shook his head, then realized Soarin couldn't see him in this position "I'm sure... I can't travel like you, it's better this way..."

"Don't say that you featherbrain." Soarin said as his hoof stroked down Braeburn's mane and his cheek nuzzled the other's neck. There was a long silence "It's only six months..." He mumbled "Till me and the others come out this way again... do you think you can wait that long?"

"O-Only s-six?" Braeburn said, his voice cracking "I-I can go th-through that in a s-second."

Soarin broke away from him, only to feel a hat deposited on his head. "What's this for?" he asked, glancing up at the rim.

Braeburn just smiled "My dad gave it ta me when I got my cutie mark... before he started actin' like... yeah..." He mumbled "I want ya ta hold onto that... same with these goggles, it's my treasure..." He mumbled, fumbling with the pair of goggles around his neck.

A long silence occurred. "You're coming with me if anything happens to you here, I don't care how small it is, but if you get hurt again because of me... then I'm going to drag you myself."

"Soar..." Braeburn mumbled, before smiling softly. "I... thanks..."

Soarin smiled before suddenly grabbing the other's head and mashing his lips into his. It was the same as the past hundred times, yet this time he seemed more passionate, trying too hard and yet not hard enough. Braeburn let the tongue enter his mouth and wrestle with his for a good five minutes. Soarin started to gently fly up with his wings, and Braeburn had to get on his hind legs to keep kissing him. Soarin suddenly broke away, and Braeburn saw he was panting heavily, he lowered himself back to all fours.

"I'm so glad I fell in love with such a good kisser..." The pegasus joked. Braeburn smirked with tears in his eyes. "I love you." Soarin said, looking down on Braeburn as his wings gently flapped down cool air onto the earth pony's body.

"Love ya too, ya big oaf." Braeburn said. He didn't dare swallow, afraid the taste of Soarin would leave his mouth. Soarin smiled down on him.

"Wanna know something?" Soarin asked suddenly.

"What?" Braeburn said, erecting his ears up once more.

"I... I don't think that bartender ever spit in your drink... I seriously don't." Soarin said, before smirking down at the other. "See you later, dude." He was teasing with the "Dude" part. Soarin hardly called him Dude or Man anymore... they had grown too close for that.

Braeburn was silent as this truth sunk in "S-See ya later..." He mumbled. He wasn't willing to say goodbye, because he didn't want to believe it was goodbye. Soarin blinked away the tears in his eyes before suddenly flying off, afraid he might start crying. He left Braeburn there, letting the earth pony think about his own feelings..

He glanced down around his neck, and gently stoked the frame of the goggles. He turned and began to trot home in the night. He wasn't afraid of being attacked at the moment.

Braeburn decided he wasn't going to cry or feel sorry for himself. They didn't part on bad terms, they didn't get in a fight, they were just going their separate ways for a short time...

Braeburn held his head high, and began to count down each and every moment until six months had run its course.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys.**

**-**  
**"Only a matter of time."**  
**-**

**Winding Roads**  
**Epilogue**

It was when Braeburn was lying in his room, trying to get some well needed sleep after a week straight of Apple Bucking that the knock came to his door. He found himself groaning in slight anger and frustration. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with people trying to "change" him from his lifestyle. The news of him being a coltcuddler must have reached Princess Celestia in the month after Soarin left by the way everypony treated it like it was something special. He had also stopped trying to convince others that it was natural for him, for they didn't listen.

Nonetheless, the yellow pony still found himself rolling out of the bed and onto the wooden floor. The floorboards creaked under his hooves as he trotted to the door. He found himself opening it with more force than intended "Listen buddy, I don't care what ya say, I ain't gonna change!"

"Um... okay." The voice came, it was fillyish. Braeburn opened his eyes in slight frustration, until he saw the pair of wings on the back of the pegasus at his doorway. He let himself calm down his feelings, knowing she would get frightened. He spotted the saddle bag she was carrying at her side.

"Sorry, I thought you were somepony else... can I help you?" He asked, trying to be more polite through his annoyance at not being able to sleep.

"A-Alright..." The pegasus mumbled "Y-You see, my name is Derpy Hooves, and I've just been promoted in being a mailpony, and I'm allowed to travel around Equestria delivering mail now, isn't that great?" She asked, smiling happily. Braeburn noticed her cutie mark of bubbles. It was... strange for a mail cutie mark.

"Okay... so do ya have mail for me?" He asked, chuckling lightly as he thought the bubbles might be for her bubbly brain.

"Oh, sorry, let me see..." Derpy began to fumble around in her saddlebag. Braeburn thought it odd, nopony ever sent him mail, and he meant nopony. He was entirely anti-social, Soarin had been his only friend in a long time. A letter was taken out of the mail bag and handed to the yellow pony. "There you go, that'll be one bit please!" She said happily. Braeburn handed her a bit as he looked at the letter. There was no name, just an address in Los Pegasus that he didn't recognize."

He cracked open the parchment. The tip of a light blue feather popped out. Braeburn felt his heart skip as he suddenly ripped the letter open, pulling out the piece of parchment and unfolding it.

[i][center]Dear Brae,  
I know it's been a while, sorry for not getting a letter out sooner, shows and all. I just really wanted to talk to you, sometimes I don't think I can make it the next five months. This is gonna sound sappy, but I miss you so much sometimes I can't even stand it. That sounded cheesy, sorry about that. I hope you're doing good, and nopony else is being a jerk to you, I'll kick their ass if they are, don't worry. I think I better end this soon, I'm not good at writing letters...

Love, Soarin

P.S. I never did get my apple pie...[/center][/i]

Braeburn shot his head up. "Derpy, how fast can ya get a letter back to this address?" He snapped, holding up the envelope. She looked shocked, and Braeburn chose to ignore why she was still there. She fluttered her wings as bit and jumped back, bumping into the hallway in the apartment complex, knocking down a picture frame. "Oops..." She mumbled, looking worried.

Braeburn rolled his eyes "I'll pay for it, please answer the question."

"Um... about three days If I leave now." She said "B-But I still have to go back to Ponyville too..."

"I'll pay ya twenty bits." Braeburn said. There was a chance Soarin was still there... it was slim, but there was still a chance.

"Yes sir!" Derpy proudly shouted as she gave a salute, knocking her head into the wall as her eyes spun. The mark had to be for her bubbly brain.

"Okay, give me ten seconds." Braeburn said before trotting off to one of the small tables on the desk. He ripped open a drawer and pulled out parchment and a quill, along with a bottle of ink. He thought for a while about what to say. He then realized that Soarin wouldn't care what he said... as long as it was from Braeburn...

He calmed down, and began to take his time.

"Dear Soarin." He mumbled aloud through the quill between his teeth.

* * *

**To be continued in Entangled Pathways.**


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